After five consecutive below-average rains, the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa is expanding and deepening. Combined with insecurity and macroeconomic volatility, the impact of the drought on food and nutrition security has been devastating. Across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, an estimated 22 million people are now acutely food insecure because of the drought. The malnutrition situation is also critical. Some 5.1 million children across drought-affected areas of the three countries are acutely malnourished in 2023, with dire implications for their health, growth and survival. Concerningly, the upcoming March-May 2023 rains are also forecast to be below-average. Should these rains fail, and humanitarian assistance not be delivered at scale, food insecurity will continue to deteriorate. Regardless of how the 2023 rains perform, extremely high humanitarian needs will persist through 2023 while a full recovery from a drought of this magnitude will take years. To address the devastating drought-induced hunger and malnutrition across the region, WFP is pursuing an integrated dual track approach; meeting immediate life-saving food and nutritional needs while simultaneously building resilience to extreme climate variability

The State of the Climate in Asia 2021 report highlighted how climate change impacts are wreaking an ever-increasing human, financial and environmental toll, worsening food insecurity and poverty and holding back sustainable development

The Arab region in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) represents a substantial area of the terrestrial landmass encompassing several countries and ecosystems. This area is generally drier and warmer compared to the rest of the world and has extreme resource limitations that are highly vulnerable to a changing climate, geopolitical instability and land degradation (Slimani & Aidoud, 2004). Agriculture (crops and livestock) is a critical source of employment and a potential option for engaging rural youth. However, environmental degradation coupled with declining and variable agricultural productivity may pose a massive challenge already beset by instability and declining oil reserves (Tagliapietra, 2017). The Arab region is also subjected to short and long-duration climate extreme events, and the overall impact of their cascading effects on ecosystems, societies and economies is still an open question. Climate change, along with post-war geopolitical complexities, has greatly affected the Arab region in terms of its economy and social balance. Climate change has penetrating effects on the region’s agriculture sector and hence its economy. These are mainly manifested via changes in water resources and extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves and a drastic decline in precipitation

Climate information is critical towards strengthening the decision making among different users interested in mitigating impacts of climate related disasters. However, there is need for the climate users to have basic knowledge on weather and climate concepts and to a larger extend, early warning early action (EWEA) system and approach. This manual presents an opportunity for the climate users including communities to acquire basic knowledge on Early Warning Early Action and this entails; understanding risk areas, existing early warning systems, communication of early warning information and enhancing disaster preparedness through translating early warning into early actions. The EWEA manual largely target the users in different sectors and communities. The execution of the EWEA manual is planned for 3 days and this does incorporate different methods such as; PowerPoint presentation, group work discussions as well as practical exercises

Women have less access to the development services and support – such as adequate healthcare, education and modern technology – that make people more resilient to climate change and other shocks and stressors.2 Women’s unequal access to resources, their disproportionate responsibility for care of dependents (typically unpaid), and the insecurity and precariousness of their paid labour all contribute to the feminisation of poverty and women’s heightened vulnerability to climate hazards. Climate change is a multiplier of existing vulnerabilities and threatens to reverse hard-earned development gains for all people, and particularly for women

Issue Brief No. 29: Planetary Health is an interdisciplinary academic collective of many scientific disciplines. In addition to the fields of environmental and social sciences, that of human health is one of many. Because of the many disciplines involved in this topic and the large number of resources available, we would like to share with you in this Issue Brief the most important documents related to Planetary Health. All of these documents and many more can be found in the Planetary Health Toolbo

Interactive Dashboard: Climate; Hunger & Economic Explorer

Considerando las repercusiones del cambio climático cada vez más intensas en todo el mundo, las naciones deben aumentar drásticamente la financiación y la implementación de medidas diseñadas para ayudar a las naciones y comunidades vulnerables a adaptarse a la tormenta de fenómenos climáticos extremos, señala un reciente informe del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA)

Considerando las repercusiones del cambio climático cada vez más intensas en todo el mundo, las naciones deben aumentar drásticamente la financiación y la implementación de medidas diseñadas para ayudar a las naciones y comunidades vulnerables a adaptarse a la tormenta de fenómenos climáticos extremos, señala un reciente informe del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA)

As climate impacts intensify across the globe, nations must dramatically increase funding and implementation of actions designed to help vulnerable nations and communities adapt to the climate storm