In focus
• Some 3 million people require food and livelihoods assistance in Syria. A surge in displacement took place between June and September;
• In September, flooding in Pakistan affected 4.5 million people; seven flood affected districts are in IPC phase 3 (crisis) or phase 4 (emergency);
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 5.4 million people require humanitarian assistance. Since June 2012, conflict has displaced 550,000 people in the East;
• According to the August IPC round, 46 percent of the Yemeni population - more than 10.5 million people - are food insecure; 24 percent are in phase 4 (emergency) and 22 percent in phase 3 (crisis), due to conflict impacts;
• Food insecurity levels have increased in Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe following poor crop performance in 2011-2012. Humanitarian needs are peaking as the lean season approaches; seasonal forecasts from a number of sources all indicate below average rainfall through the next growing season;
• Following a lean season where acute malnutrition rates exceeded the ‘critical’ 15 percent threshold in parts of Chad, Niger, Mauritania and Senegal, seasonal rains have led to short-term improvement in food security conditions across the Sahel. Flooding in August and September affected some 1.5 million people in West Africa;
• Drought has affected the primera harvest El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, causing maize price increases. Poor weather and Hurricane Isaac have disrupted rural livelihoods in Haiti;
• Although global food price increases have generally not passed through to domestic retail markets, increases are being observed in wholesale prices in some import-dependent countries; and
• The developing El Nino might lead to increased precipitation in the greater horn of Africa and in the Philippines, and to below average rains in Central America and parts of Southern Africa.