| Countries in crisis requiring external assistance for food are expected to lack the resources to deal with reported critical problems of food insecurity. The list below covers crises related to lack of food availability, widespread lack of access to food, or severe but localized problems. However, many countries are also severely affected by high food and fuel prices. These include countries which are large net importers of cereals and fuels, with generally low per capita incomes, relatively high levels of malnutrition, and for which there is a strong transmission of high international food prices1. |
| Nature of Food Insecurity | Main Reasons | Changes from last report2 |
| Exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies |
| Lesotho | Lower household food stocks and high prices limit food availability and access. An estimated 39 percent of the population is food insecure. |  |
| Zimbabwe | An estimated 1.67 million people are food insecure following the poor cereal output in 2012. However, generally stable prices and adequate maize supplies, due to imports, have stabilised food security conditions | |
| Widespread lack of access |
| Burkina Faso | Massive influx of refugees from Mali has put additional pressure on local food markets. Although production recovered significantly in 2012, assistance is still needed in parts, due to the lingering effects of last year’s drought-induced food crisis. | |
| Chad | Lingering effects of 2011 sharp drop in production resulted in depletion of household assets. Moreover, over 300 000 people from the Sudan’s Darfur region and the Central African Republic are located as refugees in southern and eastern regions of Chad. Also, the return of an estimated 79 000 Chadians from Libya is putting additional pressure on the local food supply. | |
| Djibouti | About 70 000 people, mainly pastoralists affected by high food prices and consecutive poor rainy seasons, are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance. |  |
| Eritrea | Vulnerability to food insecurity due to economic constraints and high food and fuel prices | |
| Gambia | A steep drop in 2011 cereal production and high food prices led to a deterioration of the food security situation in several parts of the country. In spite of last year’s increased national production assistance is still needed. | |
| Guinea | Access to food negatively affected by several years of high food prices and general inflation. | |
| Liberia | Slow recovery from war-related damages, inadequate social services and infrastructure, as well as high food prices and poor market access. Massive influx of refugees from Côte d’Ivoire - some 65 647 Ivorian refugees were still living in Liberia as of November 2012. | |
| Malawi | Rapid rise in food prices has severely constrained food access, while localised floods in the south during January aggravated the poor food insecurity situation. Nearly 2 million people are in need of food assistance. |  |
| Mali | Insecurity in northern Mali have disrupted food commodity flows and resulted in large population displacements. This has worsened the already precarious food security situation created by the drought-induced 2011 poor harvest. | |
| Mauritania | Lingering effects of the 2011 sharp drop in production which resulted in depletion of household assets. The country is also affected by high international food prices due to its high import dependency. Moreover, more than 110 000 Malian refugees have been registered in Hodh Ech Chargui Region in the southeastern part of the country. | |
| Niger | The country has been struck by successive severe food crises in recent years that resulted in depletion of household assets and high levels of indebtedness. In addition, large numbers of refugees and returning national migrant workers from Mali and Libya placed an increasing demand on food. | |
| Sierra Leone | Slow recovery from war-related damage. Depreciation of currency led to higher inflation negatively affecting households’ purchasing power and food security conditions. | |
| Severe localized food insecurity |
| Burundi | Below-average seasonal harvests, coupled with high food prices, continue to erode purchasing power of low-income households. | |
| Cameroon | About 400 000 individuals in need of relief food assistance due to production shortfalls in some northern areas. The situation in the north of the country was further aggravated in August by floods affecting about 60 000 people. | |
| Central African Republic | Renewed civil conflict caused the displacement of 173 000 individuals and restricted access to agricultural land and food. | |
| Congo | Widespread floods had already occurred in August/September affecting about 54 000 people. In November and December, persistent torrential rains caused extensive flooding in the capital, Brazzaville and in Pointe-Noire, the two largest cities in the country, causing the displacement of further 13 500 persons. | |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Conflict-related damage to agriculture in recent years and the lack of support services mainly in the northern regions. The 2011 post-election crisis forced thousands of people to leave the country and seek refuge, mostly in eastern Liberia, where over 65 000 Ivorian refugees were still living as of November 2012. | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Escalation of conflict has displaced additional people increasing the total number of IDPs to an estimated 2.7 million. Agricultural activities were hindered, especially in eastern parts, while high food prices continue to impede food access. Nationally, a total of 6.4 million people are estimated to be in food and livelihood crisis. | |
| Ethiopia | Although the food security conditions are improving with the commercialization of the favourable 2012 meher season harvest, some 3.7 million people are still estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance. | |
| Kenya | The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance is still estimated at 2.1 million. However, food security conditions are expected to deteriorate in some southeast and coastal zones due to below average 2012/13 short rains harvest. | |
| Madagascar | Stable national rice prices are benefiting food security conditions, however, the passing of cyclone Felleng in January 2013 led to some flood damages and market disruptions. Further flooding remains a possibility until the end of the cyclone season in April 2013. Overall, 35 percent of households are estimated to be food insecure. | |
| Mozambique | Heavy rains and flooding in January and February affected about 213 000 people, causing damage to cropped fields and loss of food stocks. Maize prices continue to climb across the country, negatively impacting on households’ food access. | |
| Senegal | Production shortfalls and high food prices in 2012 led to a deterioration of the food security situation in several parts of the country. Although production recovered significantly last year, assistance is still needed in parts. | |
| Somalia | The number of people in need of emergency assistance has been halved in the past six months to 1.05 million as a consequence of continued humanitarian interventions and improved food supply due to the ongoing 2012/13 “deyr”. | |
| South Sudan | About one million people are estimated to be severely food insecure, mainly in pocket areas affected by civil insecurity, trade restrictions and floods. | |
| Sudan | About 3.5 million people are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance, mainly in conflict-affected areas. | |
| Nature of Food Insecurity | Main Reasons | Changes from last report2 |
| Exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies |
| Iraq | Severe civil insecurity | |
| Syrian Arab Republic | Severe civil conflict continues. The number of people in need of urgent food and livelihood assistance is estimated to be 4 million. Although, some international food assistance is provided, the Syrian refugees are putting strain on other countries in the region. | |
| Widespread lack of access |
| Democratic People's Republic of Korea | A dry spell in May-June 2012 affected early season harvest of wheat, barley and potatoes and main season soybeans. Localized floods in July-August have damaged agricultural infrastructure, including fish ponds. Chronic food insecurity exists, despite improved cereal harvest of 2012 main season, with 2.8 million severely vulnerable people requiring food assistance during the 2012/13 marketing year (November/October). | |
| Yemen | The severely food-insecure population in need of emergency food assistance is estimated at over 10 million people (46 percent of the population) as a result of high levels of poverty, prolonged conflict and high prices of food and fuel. | |
| Severe localized food insecurity |
| Afghanistan | Some areas, particularly in the extreme northeast and some higher elevations of the central highlands are faced with increased food insecurity due to loss of livestock and reduced remittances from the Islam Republic of Iran. | |
| Kyrgyzstan | A lower cereal production makes the country dependant on the import of staple foods and vulnerable to global food price rises, which adversely affect the purchasing power of the poorest families. Socio-political tensions still exist in Jalalabad, Osh and Batken Oblasts. | |
| Nature of Food Insecurity | Main Reasons | Changes from last report2 |
| Exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies |
| Cuba | Crop losses and agricultural damage due to Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. About 563 000 most vulnerable people affected by the hurricane have been targeted by WFP as beneficiaries of emergency food assistance. | + |
| Severe localized food insecurity |
| Haiti | Severe damage to agriculture, housing and infrastructure caused by Tropical Storm Isaac and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. | |
| Country | Main Reasons | Changes from last report2 |
| AFRICA ( 1 country ) |
| Namibia | Below normal rains during the 2012/13 cropping season, with dry conditions intensifying at the start of 2013, except in the far northeastern areas. | + |
TERMINOLOGY
Countries requiring external assistance for food are expected to lack the resources to deal with reported critical problems of food insecurity. Food crises are nearly always due to a combination of factors, but for the purpose of response planning, it is important to establish whether the nature of food crises is predominantly related to lack of food availability, limited access to food, or severe but localized problems. Accordingly, the list of countries requiring external assistance is organized into three broad, not mutually exclusive, categories:
Countries facing an exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies as a result of crop failure, natural disasters, interruption of imports, disruption of distribution, excessive post-harvest losses, or other supply bottlenecks. Countries with widespread lack of access, where a majority of the population is considered to be unable to procure food from local markets, due to very low incomes, exceptionally high food prices, or the inability to circulate within the country. Countries with severe localized food insecurity due to the influx of refugees, a concentration of internally displaced persons, or areas with combinations of crop failure and deep poverty.
Unfavourable Prospects for Current Crops are countries where prospects point to a shortfall in production of current crops as a result of a reduction of the area planted and/or yields due to adverse weather conditions, plant pests, diseases and other calamities.
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No change
Improving
Deteriorating