Moscow: Around 40 countries currently require continuous external food assistance, Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Liaison Office with Russia, told RIA Novosti in an interview. Famine is projected to worsen in 13 countries, prompting the FAO to urge major donors, including Russia, to make voluntary contributions to FAO and its partners’ emergency assistance programs.
According to Nam News Network, the list of countries with a potentially deteriorating situation includes Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Syria, Somalia, and Chad. While the situation has improved in Southeast Asia and South Asia, mainly due to dynamic socio-economic growth in India, as well as in South America, these positive trends contrast with the steady increase in famine across most sub-regions of Africa and West Asia.
Kobiakov highlighted this disparity, noting the concerning rise in hunger levels in these affected regions. The FAO continues to emphasize the need for sustained international support to address these urgent food crises and to prevent further deterioration in global hunger hotspots.