Sahel and West Africa: 11.4 million acutely food-insecure people

Some 11.4 million people were estimated to be in immediate need of assistance (phases 3-5) in March-May 2020 in the 13 countries analysed in the Sahel and West Africa region, including 5.1 million in Nigeria, 1.6 million in Burkina Faso and 1.6 million in Niger. The food and nutrition situation remains difficult in conflict-affected areas such as the Liptako‑Gourma area or the Lake Chad basin, particularly in northeast Nigeria, which accounted for 34% of food insecure people in the region. Some areas are still not accessible to humanitarian actors, and the situation of people living in these areas remains unknown. In 2020, Sierra Leone was also among the hotspot countries, mostly due to macro-economic shocks. The food and nutrition situation in Liberia deteriorated but could not be analysed due to lack of data.