‘We live on bread and tea. I’ve wished for death’: Yemen’s forgotten refugees
War has intensified poverty and hunger as aid is cut, with many families living in makeshift camps barely surviving
The pain of going to bed hungry is becoming familiar for Jamila Rabea. It’s hard to sleep. The meagre rations of bread, tomato paste and tea she spends much of her day trying to gather, she gives to her children. Five of them live with her in a shelter built from tarpaulin, cloth and scraps of wood.
Like many of the refugee families living here in a makeshift camp to the east of the Yemen port city of Al-Mukalla, she has had to leave home because of the bombs and fighting.
Continue reading...ENSO-neutral is present. Abnormal dryness conditions are present in central Africa, eastern Central Asia, western Yemen and northern Hispaniola.
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16Unlocking stronger food systems with African research (SciDev.Net)
Unlocking stronger food systems with African research (SciDev.Net)
Steven Omamo discusses the findings of the 2025 Global Food Policy Report and the urgent need for bold action to avert a looming food crisis in Africa.
The post Unlocking stronger food systems with African research (SciDev.Net) appeared first on IFPRI.
Droughts worldwide pushing tens of millions towards starvation, says report
Water shortages hitting crops, energy and health as crisis gathers pace amid climate breakdown
Drought is pushing tens of millions of people to the edge of starvation around the world, in a foretaste of a global crisis that is rapidly deepening with climate breakdown.
More than 90 million people in eastern and southern Africa are facing extreme hunger after record-breaking drought across many areas, ensuing widespread crop failures and the death of livestock. In Somalia, a quarter of the population is now edging towards starvation, and at least a million people have been displaced.
Continue reading...ENSO-neutral is present. Dryness is observed in Central Asia, tropical Africa, Yemen, and northern Central America. Meanwhile, flood risk continues in Africa, Central America, and northern South America.
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16ENSO-neutral is present. Dryness expands in Central Asia and emerges in northern Central America. Meanwhile, flood risk exists in local areas throughout central Africa, along coasts in Central America, and in several regions of northern South America.
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16ENSO-neutral conditions continue. Dryness is observed in Nigeria, parts of East Africa, and central-eastern Central Asia. Meanwhile, extensive hot conditions persist in Central America, Hispaniola, and Central Asia.
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16ENSO-neutral conditions continue. Dryness has settled in over Nigeria and parts of East Africa; hot conditions and heightened flooding risks continue in Central America and Hispaniola; hot and dry conditions persist in Central Asia.
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16ENSO-neutral conditions have continued since March 2025. Abnormal heat risk is likely in northern, eastern Africa, and Central Asia; flooding persists in Central America, Hispaniola, and northern South America.
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16ENSO-neutral conditions are present since March 2025. Abnormal heat risk is likely over northern and central Africa, Central Asia, and northern Central America.
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16ENSO-neutral conditions have returned since March 2025. Dryness prevails in eastern Africa and eastern Central Asia, while flooding continues in Central America, Hispaniola, and northern South America.
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16ENSO-neutral is present. Abnormal heat is present in northwestern and eastern and in western Afghanistan. Flood risk continues in Africa, Central America, and northern South America.
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16Sudan’s prolonged conflict could slash GDP by over 40% and push millions deeper into poverty, new IFPRI study warns
A new study finds that if Sudan’s conflict continues through the end of 2025, the country could face catastrophic economic losses, widespread unemployment, and a dramatic rise in poverty, with women and rural populations hit hardest.
The post Sudan’s prolonged conflict could slash GDP by over 40% and push millions deeper into poverty, new IFPRI study warns appeared first on IFPRI.
Rising poverty in conflict zones ‘causes a billion people to go hungry’
In first assessment since pandemic in 2020, World Bank urges other countries to step up support
Extreme poverty is accelerating in 39 countries affected by war and conflict, leaving more than a billion people to go hungry, according to the World Bank.
Civil wars and confrontations between nations, mostly in Africa, have set back economic growth and reduced the incomes of more than a billion people, “driving up extreme poverty faster than anywhere else”, the Washington-based body said.
Continue reading...Ancient maize v agribusiness: why Colombia’s ‘seed guardians’ are fighting the use of GM crops
Biotech companies say genetically modified plants give higher yields and reduce pesticide use. But in rural communities, questions are growing over who really benefits – and the threat to native varieties
On a hillside farm in San Lorenzo, in the mountains of Colombia’s southern Nariño department, Aura Alina Domínguez presses maize seeds into the damp soil. Around her, farmers Alberto Gómez, José Castillo and Javier Castillo arrive with their selected seeds, stored in shigras – hand-woven shoulder bags – as has been done for generations.
In San Lorenzo, they call themselves “seed guardians” for their role in protecting this living heritage and passing it down the generations. “Each seed carries our grandparents’ story,” says Domínguez, arranging the dried cobs that hang from her rafters.
Continue reading...FEWS NET Relaunches Website, Resumes Global Food Security Analysis
Washington, D.C. – The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) relaunched its website Tuesday, coinciding with the release of an updated analysis on global acute food insecurity.
Following a brief pause in services during a review of U.S. foreign assistance programs, FEWS NET has resumed operations and published a new Global Food Security Update with analysis through September 2025. The FEWS NET program will reinstate its regular reporting cycle and restore full geographic coverage in the coming months.
“We are pleased to announce that FEWS NET is resuming its critical mandate of forecasting life-threatening food crises around the world,” FEWS NET spokesperson Hannah Button said. “FEWS NET was established as part of America’s response to famine in East and West Africa in the 1980s, and its strength came from connecting emerging satellite technologies to a deep local understanding of people’s livelihoods and the types of hazards that increase the risks of hunger. FEWS NET will continue to integrate cutting-edge data and space-based technologies with local human knowledge, in partnership with governments, NGOs, regional institutions, and the private sector. This defines our gold-standard approach to forecasting food crises and providing decision makers with the information they need to save lives, enhance human security, and support prosperity.”
In its June 2025 Global Food Security Update, FEWS NET warns of worsening hunger in conflict-affected areas of several regions. In East Africa, heightened insecurity remains a key driver of acute food insecurity in South Sudan, northern Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, where extreme hunger and high levels of acute malnutrition and hunger-related deaths are likely ongoing in areas of North Darfur and Khartoum. A combination of conflict and drought are impacting food security outcomes for refugee and internally displaced populations in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi. In the Middle East and Afghanistan, food assistance needs remain high across the region, with Gaza experiencing the most extreme outcomes amid mass starvation and hunger-related deaths. In West Africa, conflict, insecurity, and localized weather shocks are expected to drive increased food assistance needs, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria’s North East region, as violent extremist organizations continue their push to the Atlantic coast. Conflict has significantly disrupted agricultural and economic activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. In Haiti, gang violence continues to drive mass displacement, heavily disrupting economic activity and significantly impeding household access to food. Hunger is expected to worsen in Central America’s Dry Corridor and Venezuela from June to September.
In several regions, violent conflicts are disrupting agricultural production, severing trade routes, and limiting humanitarian access. FEWS NET analysts continue to closely monitor ongoing conflicts to assess impacts on global food systems and localized levels of acute food insecurity.
“The world is facing a historic surge in organized violence. As of 2024, there are more active state-based conflicts than at any time since 1946, with at least 11 ongoing wars and over 160,000 conflict-related deaths,” Senior Conflict Advisor Dr. Yehuda Magid said. “The geographic reach of violence has expanded sharply, with conflict now affecting 65 percent more global territory than just three years ago. Nearly one in eight people worldwide are exposed to political violence. This escalation reflects not only a rise in the number of conflicts, but also their intensity and civilian impact.”
While the war in Ukraine has severely reduced grain exports from one of the world’s key suppliers, other ongoing conflicts have triggered price spikes through blockades and infrastructure attacks, hitting low-income, import-dependent countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia the hardest.
“In an interconnected world, the global food system is increasingly vulnerable to the ripple effects of conflict. Responding to this challenge requires not just humanitarian aid, but conflict-sensitive development, market stabilization, and sustained diplomatic engagement to prevent future shocks,” Magid said.
Since its formation in 1985, FEWS NET has systematized its collection, analysis, and publication of data on a wide range of integrated factors that contribute to food insecurity – including local livelihoods, conflict, markets and trade systems, agroclimatology and weather, and more – allowing for cross-nationally comparable forecasts of life-threatening food crises that are grounded in local realities. The network’s deep expertise in these areas has positioned it to become a global leader in food security analysis. FEWS NET is currently the only global program that provides 8-month projections that inform humanitarian response planning, with monthly updates to ensure timely adjustments to deliveries.
“The return of FEWS NET sends an important message: It reminds the world that American foreign assistance is both generous and strategic,” Button said. “By providing governments and aid organizations with the data and analysis needed to anticipate and prepare for food shocks, we can all work together towards achieving the shared goal of reducing human suffering and promoting global stability.”
FEWS NET will continue to inform U.S. government decisions on how much food to purchase from American farmers and where it should be sent to alleviate the greatest suffering. In 2023, the U.S. purchased $2.1 billion in food from domestic farmers and ranchers – including sorghum, corn, beans, rice, and vegetable oil – to help more than 45 million people in need of emergency food and nutrition assistance across 35 countries.
Regular monthly food security reporting for all FEWS NET-monitored countries will resume in the coming months, beginning with the publication of Key Messages for select countries in July 2025. FEWS NET teams will also work to fill gaps in data collection that occurred during this year’s pause in services. Please check the FEWS NET website regularly for updates to our reporting and data offerings.
“As humanitarian assistance levels decline amid a rise in global insecurity, FEWS NET remains committed to our role as the leading global provider of acute food insecurity analysis,” Button said. “Our ability to leverage our decades of expertise to continuously improve forecasting accuracy and timeliness uniquely positions us to help inform humanitarian responses and government decision-making.”
Publish Date Tue, 06/24/2025 - 12:00 Location Washington, D.C. Contacts
Hannah Button
Famine Early Warning Systems Network
hbutton@fews.net
ENSO-neutral is present. Dryness is observed in Central Asia, tropical Africa, Yemen, northern Central America and Hispaniola. Meanwhile, flood risk is present in Africa, Central America, and northern South America.
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16New study proposes smarter cropland allocation to support sustainable agricultural intensification in Senegal
The study explores how farmers’ land-use decisions can be guided by the relative risks and returns of different crops—similar to how financial investments are managed.
The post New study proposes smarter cropland allocation to support sustainable agricultural intensification in Senegal appeared first on IFPRI.
Global Food Security Update: June to September 2025
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8Global Food Security Update: May to September 2025
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