UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid

ROME (AP) — Two U.N. agencies are warning of rising food emergencies including starvation in Sudan due to the outbreak of war and in Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali due to restricted movements of people and goods. The four countries join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen at the highest alert levels, with communities that are already facing or projected to face starvation; or otherwise risk a slide “towards catastrophic conditions.” The report by the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization calls for urgent attention to save both lives and jobs. Beyond the nine countries at the highest level of concern, the agencies say 22 countries are identified as “hotspots’’ risking acute food insecurity.