In Mali, it’s the security crisis that’s contributing to the population’s hunger. In Kenya, a combination of floods and the ongoing fight against desert locusts are driving food insecurity, while Zimbabwe continues to struggle with high food prices in an uncertain economy. All told there are 34 African nations that…
Another locust outbreak is threatening southern Africa, this time with the potential to affect some 7 million people in four more countries. Botswana has seen smallholder farmers lose entire crops, with the growing region of Pandamatenga and its key sorghum crops at risk as the country seeks to step up…
The European Union has committed €15 million to the fight against desert locusts, which have devastated crops in East Africa. It’s the worst outbreak in decades, and a new generation of locusts is now threatening the region with the potential to spread beyond the Horn of Africa and Yemen, into…
New swarms of locusts are coming from Ethiopia and Somalia into Kenya, as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners continue to fight back against crop destruction in a part of the world where it is least afforded. The FAO said Friday it was…
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is sending $10 million to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to help combat a devastating locust infestation in East Africa and Horn nations. “The locust invasion is the worst Kenya has seen in 70 years, and the worst in nearly a…
The desert locust swarms that have devastated crops on the Horn of Africa are rapidly multiplying in affected countries and likely to spread into other nations, according to an update from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and partner agencies. FAO says swarms are the worst…
The desert locust outbreak in Somalia is far worse than anticipated, with significant crop damage in the eastern regions and threats to another 100,000 hectares expected over the next six months. That’s according to an update Wednesday from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which said it…
Aid workers in Angola are appealing for help in the country’s south, where they say climate change is causing a crisis for up to 2.3 million people. Paolo Balladelli of the United Nations said that’s how many people were affected at the height of this year’s drought. “Temperatures in 2019…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
They leave because they lack an adequate income. They leave because they’re looking for better educational opportunities, because of the security situation at home, because there’s no food, and because of environmental and climate shocks. That’s according to a survey of 4,195 migrants in Libya released by IOM, the United…
The threat of crop-destroying locust swarms remains for the Horn of Africa and some North African nations, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and its new Early Warning Early Action report. The United Nations agency has been monitoring the threat following “unprecedented spring breeding” that happened earlier this…
The World Health Organization is promoting the first-ever World Food Safety Day, a United Nations initiative rooted in the theme that “food safety is everyone’s business.” Every year, an estimated 600 million people become ill after eating food contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances. Unsafe food also hinders…
Experts with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warn that severe drought conditions in Somalia may leave 18 percent of the population facing severe food insecurity this year. Rains in the southern growing areas never arrived in April and early May, the heart of the “gu” rainy season…
The weeklong United Nations Environment Assembly began in Nairobi on Monday with a moment of silence for the 157 victims aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, which crashed near its origination at Addis Ababa on Sunday with dozens of UN staffers, global delegates and participants on board. Acting UN Environment director…
On Monday morning at 10 a.m., the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) based in Nairobi will begin the first plenary session of the UN Environment Assembly – and they’ll do so with empty seats. That’s because according to estimates, up to 50 passengers aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, which crashed…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Horn of Africa nations continue their battles with a desert locust outbreak that is affecting the Red Sea region, where February rains have promoted a second generation of the insect breeding that began in December. New swarms are expected to form at the end of the month. “Once vegetation begins…