World Food Program warns of increased food insecurity in Guinea-Bissau in 2023

The World Food Program (WFP) representative in Guinea-Bissau, João Manha, warned on Tuesday of the possibility of an increase in the number of food insecure Guineans in 2023.

The warning came at the signing in Bissau of an agreement to strengthen the strategic plan between WFP and the government of Guinea-Bissau, which will run until 2027.

The agreement was initialed from the Guinean side by Ude Fati, Secretary of State for International Cooperation.

Quoting PAM’s chief executive, Joao Manha, said he warned of the possibility that 2023 could be a lean year in terms of food worldwide.

The situation will be exacerbated by “convergent impacts”, namely conflicts, the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, climate change and inflation.

“The number of Guineans suffering from food insecurity is expected to increase in 2023, with more than 117,000 people suffering from hunger,” said Mozambican João Manha.

The official cites these data from the 2022 harmonized system.

João Manja said that WFP was counting on the government and other partners of Guinea-Bissau to deal with the situation and warned that no single agency could tackle the problem alone.

“In Guinea-Bissau, no agency (United Nations), no organization can ever win this fight unless they have a strategic plan based on the core goals of the government’s vision,” Manya said.

Guinea-Bissau’s Secretary of State for International Cooperation understood WFP’s warning but said the government had synergy and international partners to address the issue.

With regard to PAM, Oude Fati hopes that the initiated program can bring relief to the people of Guinea, who are facing the consequences of devastating problems affecting the whole world.