Search
  1. Home
  2. East Africa
  3. Burundi

A regional take on food security

Food aid for displaced families at the Nakuru IDP camp, April 2008. At least 350,000 were displaced during the post election violence in Kenya, which also claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people. Manoocher Deghati/IRIN
    JOHANNESBURG

    A study commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has been taking stock of food security initiatives in Eastern Africa, and the authors urge those involved in such efforts to "think regionally".



    Organizations should identify food and nutrition interventions that had worked in the region and scale them up. They should promote regional trade and cooperation to boost food production and flow across borders, and develop risk management interventions to help countries cope with climate change. The study includes a review of food security initiatives in the region.



    The UN study noted that 20 million people are in need of food aid in East Africa and identified "inadequate food exchange or trade between places of abundant harvests on one hand, and those with deficit harvests on the other hand", as one of the key reasons for food insecurity.



    The authors also listed frequent droughts and floods brought on by the unfolding impact of climate change, as well as poverty, poor economic performance, land availability and access, among the other main reasons for food insecurity.



    The stock take was carried out by various regional governmental organizations such as Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Eastern African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Great Lakes Region (CEPGL), and six countries - Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.



    The region covered by IGAD comprises Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Eritrea, and is "still perhaps the most food insecure part of the world, with over 70 million people facing chronic hunger and poverty," the paper noted.



    Read the report: An overview of  the food security situation in Eastern Africa



    jk/he

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join