Today, almost 33 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), or close to 200 million people, is undernourished, of which close to 60 percent are in countries affected by conflicts.
Chronic undernourishment is widespread throughout the region, but most of the increase in the number of undernourished over the last ten years took place in conflict countries – often endowed with abundant mineral resources - while the situation in other countries has in general improved albeit unevenly and at a very slow rate. The region as a whole remains susceptible to frequent food crises and famines which are easily triggered by even the lightest of droughts, or floods, pests, economic downturns or conflicts. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region of the world where hunger is projected to worsen over the next two decades unless some drastic measures are taken to ensure peace, improve governance and achieve the economic development required to reverse the current trend.
