DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — More than 40 million people are now struggling to feed themselves across West and Central Africa with that number set to rise to 52 million by the middle of next year, the United Nations food agency said Friday.
According to a new report released Friday, the World Food Program said 3.4 million people are currently facing “emergency levels of hunger” in the region, representing a 70% increase in such cases since the summer.
The report said conflict, displacement, economic instability and severe climate shocks are driving food insecurity. The ongoing conflict in the Sahel, as well as the Sudanese civil war, have forcibly displaced over 10 million people across the region. Massive flooding in Nigeria and Chad earlier this year has made the situation acute.
Although the numbers are staggering, the new report reduces last year's estimate of the number of people facing food insecurity by 7.7 million. The WFP attributes the drop to better-than-average rainfall and marginal security improvements, which are unlikely to continue improving.
Still, the WFP report says food insecurity will next year touch nearly one in ten people in West and Central Africa that the World Bank estimates is home to over half a billion people.
Margot van der Velden, WFP’s regional director for Western Africa, said the “vicious cycle of hunger” in the region can be broken with better planning and preparedness.
“We need timely, flexible, and predictable funding to reach crisis-affected people with lifesaving assistance, and massive investments in preparedness, anticipatory action and resilience-building to empower communities and reduce humanitarian needs,” said Van der Velden.
FILE - Hauwa Bwami's grandson Suleiman eats an orange-fleshed sweet potato, harvest from a farm inside their compound in Kaltungo Poshereng Nigeria, Sunday, June 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Friday killed at least one person and injured 12 others, officials said. Moscow claimed it was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Russian soil using American-made weapons.
At least three loud blasts were heard in Kyiv shortly before sunrise. Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted five Iskander short-range ballistic missiles fired at the city. The attack knocked out heating to 630 residential buildings, 16 medical facilities, and 30 schools and kindergartens, the city administration said, and falling missile debris caused damage and sparked fires in three districts.
“We ask citizens to immediately respond to reports of ballistic attack threats, because there is very little time to find shelter,” the air force said.
During the almost three years since the war began Russia has regularly bombarded civilian areas of Ukraine, often in an attempt to cripple the power grid and unnerve Ukrainians. Meanwhile Ukraine, struggling to hold back Russia's bigger army on the front line, has attempted to strike Russian infrastructure supporting the country’s war effort.
The falling debris in Kyiv smashed into the city center, causing damage to around two dozen high-rise office buildings as well as the Catholic Church of St. Nicholas, which is a city landmark, and the Kyiv National Linguistic University.
What may have been the blast wave from an intercepted low-flying missile also blew out windows or caused other damage at six embassies, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said the strike was in response to a Ukrainian missile attack on Russia's Rostov border region two days earlier. That attack used six American-made Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, missiles and four Storm Shadow air-launched missiles provided by the United Kingdom, it said.
That day, Ukraine claimed to have targeted a Rostov oil refinery as part of its campaign to strike Russian infrastructure supporting the country's war effort.
The use of Western-supplied weapons to strike Russia has angered the Kremlin. Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia for the first time on Nov. 19 after Washington eased restrictions on their use.
That development prompted Russia to use a new hypersonic missile, called Oreshnik, for the first time. President Vladimir Putin suggested the missile could be used to target government buildings in Kyiv, though there have been no reports of an Oreshnik being used for a second time.
Answering the Ukrainian attack on Rostov on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said it carried out a group strike with “high-precision, long-range weapons” on the command center of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency and another location where it said Ukraine’s Neptune missile systems are designed and produced.
The attack also targeted Ukrainian ground-based cruise missile systems and U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, the Defense Ministry said.
“The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All objects are hit,” the defense ministry said in a Telegram post.
Its claims could not immediately be verified.
This story has been corrected to show that Russia claimed Friday's attack was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Dec. 18, not earlier Friday.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A Ukrainian serviceman collects evidence following recent Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniil Bashakov)
A Ukrainian serviceman collects evidence following recent Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniil Bashakov)
People stand next to buildings destroyed by the recent Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A woman paces past buildings destroyed by recent Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People take shelter in a metro station during and air raid alarm in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People take shelter in a metro station during an air raid alarm in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People take shelter in a metro station during an air raid alarm in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko inspects damage around a residential building hit by a Russian rocket attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Ivanna, warms her dog in front of a destroyed burning car after a recent Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)
People take shelter in a metro station during an air raid alarm in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Police officers collect evidence following recent Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Police officers collect evidence following recent Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Cars are seen damaged after recent Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
In this photo provided by Kyiv city's military administration, firefighters work on the site after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Kyiv city's military administration via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by Kyiv city's military administration, firefighters work on the site after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Kyiv city's military administration via AP)
In this photo provided by Kyiv city's military administration, firefighters work on the site after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Kyiv city's military administration via AP)
