Addis Ababa: Conflict in parts of Ethiopia has triggered a rapid increase in food insecurity, compounding the impact of an unprecedented drought affecting the country’s eastern and southern regions, the UN has warned. Titled monitoring food security in food crisis countries with conflict situations, the joint report, produced by UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme, is a twice-yearly report on the acute food insecurity situation in countries where conflict and insecurity are primary drivers of acute food insecurity, reports Xinhua news agency. The report provided an overview of how conflict and violence contributed to rising food insecurity between January and October 2022 in Ethiopia. “The recent escalation of conflict in parts of northern Ethiopia and other regions, in particular Benishangul-Gumuz and Oromia, has driven a rapid increase in food insecurity, compounding the impact of an unprecedented drought affecting eastern and southern regions,” the report said. This is due to the high volatility of the context in the past months and the persistence of one or more drivers of severe food insecurity,” it added.

Source: Ethiopian News December 21, 2022 17:15 UTC