12 March 2010: The UN Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) Sub-Regional Office for Eastern Africa (SRO-EA) has published a report that highlights the effects of climate change on food security in East Africa.
The report, titled “An Overview of the Food Security Situation in Eastern Africa,” was prepared to provide an assessment of food security-related initiatives, plans and strategies developed and implemented in the SRO-EA mandate area, as well as to describe the status of food security in six specific Eastern African countries. According to the report, East Africa is the sub-region most affected by food insecurity. It underscores that this situation has been worsened in some countries by the effects of climate change, such as droughts, floods and storms.
The report highlights, for example, that Kenya has been experiencing unprecedented food insecurity, mainly due to climate change and inadequate rainfall in the main food production areas. It further states that fluctuating food production in Tanzania is largely a result of unprecedented climate change in the country, and that climate change is the greatest challenge faced by Uganda in achieving food and nutrition security. [The Report]