Maseru, June.17 — Several countries in the Southern African region including Lesotho have just been removed from the United Nation’s (UN)Hunger Hotspot list as harvests have significantly improved from the previous season’s drought.
This is according to the semi annual Hunger Hotspots report by UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Monday.
The countries which have been removed from the Hunger Hotspots list are Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In East and Southern Africa, as well as in Niger, better climatic conditions for harvests and fewer weather extremes have eased food security pressures. Lebanon has also been delisted following reduced intensity of military operations.
However, FAO and WFP warn that these gains remain fragile and could reverse quickly if shocks re-emerge. Tens of millions of people in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho were in need of food aid just a few months ago in the face of the 2023/24 El Niño event, which left a trail of misery and wilted crops in its wake. . . .
