“Up to 18 million people in the African Sahel will face severe food insecurity over the next three months,” warned OCHA spokesman Jens Larki.

“7.7 million children under the age of five are expected to suffer from malnutrition in the Sahel,” he said during a UN press conference on the Sahel region, which stretches across northern parts of Africa from west to east.

Larki explained: “About 1.8 million people are suffering from severe malnutrition and if relief operations are not expanded, this number could reach 2.4 million by the end of the year,” and added that “the situation has reached an alarming level in Burkina- Faso and other countries. ” Chad, Mali and Niger, where people will experience extreme food insecurity during the dry season from June to August.

On Tuesday, estimates released by Oxfam International and Save the Children showed that one person dies of starvation every 48 seconds in the countries of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

In the report, the two organizations “highlighted the world’s repeated failure to avert preventable disasters” and that drought-stricken Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia were once again facing a large-scale disaster, with millions of people in the three countries facing severe consequences. hunger.

“The number of people suffering from severe hunger in the three countries has more than doubled from last year, from over 10 million to over 23 million today,” the two organizations said in a report.

The report attributed this to “heavy debt that has more than tripled in less than a decade—from $20.7 billion in 2012 to $65.3 billion by 2020—which has led to the absorption of these countries’ resources from public services and social protection.” .