High levels of food insecurity in conflict-affected areas amid aid cuts

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In Afghanistan, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are ongoing as winter ends, coinciding with the peak of the lean season across northern, northeastern, and northwestern regions. Due to limited agricultural labor opportunities and eroded household food stocks in advance of the harvest period, which begins in May in lowland areas, poor households are forced to depend on market purchases for food, facing consumption gaps due to seasonally low purchasing power. In central and eastern regions, labor opportunities are constrained by increased competition for employment from returnees from Iran and Pakistan. Reduced remittances from Iran are also eroding household purchasing power in central and western regions. However, lower-than-average food prices have prevented more pronounced deterioration in acute food security during the lean season. Staple food prices remain 25 percent lower than at the same time last year and 30 percent lower than average, supported by appreciation of the Afghani currency. Food security is anticipated to improve significantly from May through September in eastern, southeastern, and southern Afghanistan as the harvest becomes available. Increased access to food and income from agricultural labor is anticipated to drive Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes during the projected period.
In Lebanon, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are anticipated to persist through September among poor households in the north, Syrian and Palestinian refugees, and those displaced by conflict in the south. Over 90,000 people in southern Lebanon were displaced by cross-border fighting between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah from October 2023 to mid-March 2024. WFP provided humanitarian assistance in February to about 100,000 conflict-affected people in southern Lebanon. However, the level of assistance was insufficient to meet needs. Important sources of food and income were severely disrupted for displaced households in Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, and Tyre. In the south, non-displaced households experienced extensive damage to farms and atypically low harvests amid higher-than-average food and non-food commodity prices. Poor non-displaced households are increasingly adopting adverse coping strategies to compensate for the loss of food and income. In northern Lebanon, both refugees and poor households are facing food consumption gaps or engaging in irreversible coping strategies amid cuts in humanitarian funding. WFP reduced humanitarian assistance for refugees by 30 percent and in-kind food assistance for poor households by 50 percent starting in 2024; however, the extent of the cuts is unclear as the number of beneficiaries has remained similar before and after the stated cuts. Similarly, the government’s cash transfer safety net distributions, targeting 400,000 people reduced in regularity, equivalent to a 44 percent cut in transfer value, underscoring the precarious food insecurity situation among affected households.
Across Yemen, food consumption gaps indicative of Crisis (IPC Phase 3) are widespread even in areas receiving humanitarian assistance. Amid cuts in humanitarian assistance, higher-than-average food and fuel prices and reduced access to own-produced food sources are limiting household access to food. Yemen continues to face severe economic challenges driven by reduced foreign exchange reserves and a 33 percent depreciation in the Yemeni rial within the last year, accentuating inflationary market pressures in areas controlled by the Internationally Recognized Government (IRG). Following the March cereal harvests, food access marginally improved among households along the Arabian Coast, temporarily mitigating gaps due to severely eroded household purchasing power. Following the pause in humanitarian assistance, Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes are likely during the May to September projection period in several of the Sana’a-based Authority (SBA) governorates due to eroded income and food sources, compounded by the impacts of the protracted conflict. Although the start of the March to May rainy season was favorable overall, flooding in March negatively impacted populations in Shabwah, Lahj, Abyan, Marib, and Ibb governorates.
While Gaza is not regularly monitored by FEWS NET and, therefore, not typically included in regional summaries, FEWS NET’s targeted analyses on Gaza can be found here. Food security in the Gaza Strip is of extreme concern. Famine (IPC Phase 5) is imminent in northern Gaza. To prevent widespread loss of life, an immediate cessation of hostilities is required, alongside a large-scale, multi-sectoral response with unrestricted access to populations in need.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Middle East and Asia Key Message Update March 2024: High levels of food insecurity in conflict-affected areas amid aid cuts, 2024.

This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes in the specified geography. Learn more here.