Acute food insecurity could persist until January 2025 in areas affected by the El Niño phenomenon and armed conflicts in Mozambique, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS network).

Acute Food Insecurity “crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are expected to persist from October 2024 to January 2025 in areas affected by El Niño-induced drought during the 2023/2024 agricultural season and areas impacted by conflict in the north,” reads the latest report from the FEWS network, consulted on Monday by Lusa.

The network, which brings together North American organisations, places the central and southern regions and the province of Cabo Delgado, which has been facing an armed rebellion since October 2017, in the “crisis phase, level three” of food risk, on a scale of one to five, from minimum risk to the most serious, the last pointing to a lack of food.

“This is due to a combination of factors, including the onset of the lean season in October, below-average harvests in 2024, limited income-earning opportunities due to increased competition, and above-average staple food prices,” the report states.

According to the FEWS network, these conditions will make it difficult for poor and very poor households with below-average purchasing power to access food.