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3w ago

WFP Warns of Looming Hunger Crisis in West and Central Africa as Funding Gaps Threaten Aid

Over 52 million people face food insecurity during the 2025 lean season, with urgent funding needed to prevent millions from losing critical assistance.

A general view shows a United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) helicopter managed by the World Food Programme (WFP), painted in orange colour as part of efforts to improve safety of operations in the restive eastern Congo at the Mahagi airstrip in Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo in this photograph released on April 20, 2023. World Food Programme/Handout via REUTERS

Overview

  • The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) projects over 52 million people in West and Central Africa will face food insecurity during the June–August 2025 lean season, with nearly 3 million in emergency conditions (IPC4) and 2,600 in Mali at risk of catastrophic hunger (IPC5).
  • Persistent conflict and displacement have uprooted over 10 million people across the region, including 2.4 million refugees and 8 million internally displaced, cutting many off from livelihoods and food sources.
  • Economic deterioration and soaring food and fuel prices have exacerbated hunger, with countries like Ghana, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire experiencing severe food inflation.
  • Extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, affected over 6 million people in 2024, further eroding families' ability to produce or afford food.
  • WFP urgently requires $710 million to sustain operations through October 2025, warning that without immediate funding, 5 million people could lose life-saving food assistance.