Humanitarian Crisis In Africa's Central Sahel 'Out Of Control' With Covid-19 - WHO

Humanitarian Crisis in Africa's Central Sahel 'Out of Control' With Covid-19 - WHO

More than 5 million people face severe food insecurity in the Central Sahel region of Africa as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads, creating a humanitarian crisis that is "spiraling out of control," the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in a press release on Thursday

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2020) More than 5 million people face severe food insecurity in the Central Sahel region of Africa as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads, creating a humanitarian crisis that is "spiraling out of control," the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in a press release on Thursday.

"The humanitarian crisis in the Central Sahel region of Africa is spiraling out of control... according to a new joint food security assessment released today by food security partners including the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). The dramatic spike in the number of hungry people comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading into fragile countries in a region, home to the weakest health systems anywhere in the world."

Across the Central Sahel - a region that encompasses Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger - 1.3 million people in Mali and 2 million in Burkina Faso face severe food insecurity. Throughout the region, the hunger crisis affects more than 5 million people, the release said.

WFP assisted 1.5 million people in Burkina Faso and Mali in February, but more support is needed to tackle the crisis, especially as the threat of COVID-19 puts life-saving humanitarian work on the line.

The release included an appeal for $208 million to continue aiding the region through August 2020.