UN warns of 18 million facing severe hunger in region of Africa

Burkina Faso in West Africa (Alamy/PA)

The UN has warned that 18 million people in Africa’s Sahel region face severe hunger in the next three months, citing the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the coronavirus pandemic, climate-induced shocks and rising costs.

The hunger crisis may force increased numbers of people to migrate out of the affected areas, the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.