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The number of acutely food insecure people in East Africa is likely to have increased to between 34 and 43 million from May through July due to the socio-economic impact of the pandemic according to UN World Food Programme. If the number of hungry reaches 43 million, it will have more than doubled in three months.

An estimated 20 million in East Africa and Horn already faced food insecurity in nine countries before COVID-19 arrived, with numerous food crises, a massive outbreak of desert locusts and extensive flooding threatening millions across the region. Millions have already lost their jobs as economies falter amid lockdowns and curfews to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The disease is spreading across the region at the same time as fears are increasing that new swarms of desert locusts, particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya and near Somalia may eat newly planted crops ahead of the main harvest from July to September. Floods during the current long rains are another additional threat to people and food supplies in much of the region.

The APPG for Africa together with the Royal African Society hosted a public-parliamentary webinar to promote understanding of the worsening food crisis in East Africa and what interventions and innovations are effective in mitigating the crisis.

Speakers include:

Brenda Lazarus- Emergency Needs Assessment and Early Warning Advisor, FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa

Shobha Shetty- Practice Manager for Agriculture and Food Security in the World Bank’s Africa Sustainable Development Group

Dr Julius Gatune- Senior Researcher and Policy Advisor with the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET)

Chair: Lord Chidgey, Co-Chair of the APPG for Africa