The UN has warned that the food insecurity situation is expected to increase in 18 hotspots, involving 22 countries, mostly in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, during the forecast period from June to November 2023.

In a statement, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme warn that Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen remain at the highest level of concern. Haiti and the Sahel region (Burkina Faso and Mali) and Sudan have been elevated to the same level.

This situation is the result of "severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods in Haiti, as well as in Burkina Faso and Mali, and the recent outbreak of conflict in Sudan".

All these areas have populations facing or projected to face famine, according to the UN, which is calling for the most urgent attention to be paid to these countries.

Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria are all classified as points of "serious concern", and the warning is also extended to Myanmar in this edition.

All these countries have a high number of people facing critical food insecurity in the coming months.