UNITED NATIONS－Hunger is expected to rise in 23 global hotspots over the next three months, with the highest alerts for "catastrophic" situations in Ethiopia's embattled Tigray region, southern Madagascar, Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria, two UN agencies have warned.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program said in a report on "Hunger Hotspots" between August and November that "acute food insecurity is likely to further deteriorate".

They put Ethiopia at the top of the list, saying the number of people facing starvation and death is expected to rise to 401,000, the highest number since the famine in Somalia 10 years ago, if humanitarian aid is not provided quickly.

In southern Madagascar, which has suffered its worst drought in 40 years, with pests affecting staple crops and with rising food prices, 14,000 people are expected to be pushed into "catastrophic" acute food insecurity marked by starvation and death by this month. And that number is expected to double by the end of the year, with 28,000 people needing urgent help, the two agencies said.

In a report in May, 16 organizations including the FAO and the WFP said at least 155 million people faced acute hunger last year, including 133,000 who needed urgent food to prevent widespread death from starvation, an increase of 20 million in a year.

Assistance needed

"Acute hunger is increasing not only in scale but also severity," the two agencies said in Friday's report. "Overall, over 41 million people worldwide are now at risk of falling into famine or famine-like conditions unless they receive immediate life- and livelihood-saving assistance."

The two agencies, whose headquarters are in Rome, called for urgent humanitarian action to save lives in the 23 hotspots, saying help is especially critical in the five highest-alert places to prevent famine and death.

"These deteriorating trends are mostly driven by conflict dynamics, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic," they said.

These include "food price spikes, movement restrictions that limit market and pastoralists activities alike, rising inflation, decreased purchasing power and an early and prolonged lean season" for crops.

The two agencies said South Sudan, Yemen and Nigeria remain at the highest alert level, joined for the first time by Ethiopia because of Tigray and southern Madagascar.

Nine other countries also have high numbers of people facing "critical food insecurity" coupled with worsening drivers of hunger: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Haiti, Honduras, Sudan and Syria.

Agencies via Xinhua