FEWS NET Food Assistance Outlook Brief for January 2016 Released

Ongoing conflict puts Yemen at the top of the list of projected acutely food insecure populations for January 2016, according to the latest Food Assistance Outlook Brief from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) . FEWS NET is a leading provider of early warning and analysis on acute food insecurity, and the Food Assistance Outlook Brief summarizes FEWS NET’s most forward-looking analysis of projected emergency food assistance needs in FEWS NET coverage countries.

An estimated five to 9.9 million people-- 20 to 40 percent of Yemen’s population-- are projected to face emergency levels of acute food insecurity, signifying that at least one in five households could face extreme food consumption gaps resulting in very high acute malnutrition or excess mortality, or extreme loss of livelihood that will likely lead to food consumption gaps. This projection tops figures for both January 2015 and the five-year average for the country.

In Malawi, substantially below-average household production from the 2014/2015 harvest along with limited livelihood opportunities and above average maize prices are projected to reduce household purchasing power during the peak of the lean season. Conflict, displacement, and below-average harvests are expected to exhaust food stocks months earlier than usual in South Sudan.

For more details on projected food assistance needs and acutely food insecure populations around the world, read the full Food Assistance Outlook Brief .

For more information on FEWS NET, click here . For detailed country reports, click here .

BY: Rachel Kohn, IFPRI