Food insecurity due to Ebola to affect a million by March 2015, says UN

Two United Nation (UN) agencies have warned that the number of people facing food insecurity due to Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone could top one million by March 2015.

The agencies have stressed on the need for improvement in the access to food to safeguard crop and livestock production.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in their three country reports that the effect of the disease on the three countries that have already been dealing with chronic food insecurity, has been devastating.

People’s access to food has been hindered drastically due to border closures, quarantines, hunting bans and other restrictions.

Close to half a million people are estimated to be facing food insecurity in December 2014.

FAO assistant director-general and regional representative for Africa, Bukar Tijani said: "The outbreak has revealed the vulnerability of current food production systems and value chains in the worst Ebola-affected countries."

"FAO and partners need to act urgently to overcome the agriculture and market disruptions and their immediate impact on livelihoods, which could result in a food security crisis. With timely support, we can prevent the outbreak from having a severe and long-lasting impact on rural communities."

Both FAO and WFP have called for urgent action to re-establish the farming system in the three countries.

WFP emergency response coordinator Denise Brown in Dakar said: "The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been a wake-up call for the world. The virus is having a terrible impact on the three worst-hit countries and will continue to affect many people’s access to food for the foreseeable future. While working with partners to make things better, we must be prepared for them to get worse."

According to the figures from the agencies, close to 230,000, 170,000 and 120,000 are estimated to be affected by food insecurity in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone respectively.

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Image: Close to a million people will face food insecurity due to Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone by March 2015. Photo: courtesy of WFP/Rein Skullerud.