About 1.8 million people (18 percent of the population analysed) experienced high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse) between December 2023 and February 2024, including approximately 174,000 people in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 1.6 million people in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). 

Low income, coupled with high food prices is putting pressure on the poorest households – reducing their purchasing power and driving food insecurity. Additionally. the unemployment rate in the country is high, with 57.3 percent of the workforce unemployed or underemployed (due to insufficient work time or income).

The situation in the first projected period (March to May 2024) is projected to see a slight increase in the population in IPC Phase 3 or above, reaching a total of 1.8 million people. The situation is expected to deteriorate in the second projection period (June to August 2024) in line with the seasonal hunger period. Nearly 1.9 million people (19 percent of the population analysed) are projected to be in IPC Phase 3 or above, including 226,000 people in Phase 4.

Response Priorities

1. Prepare an immediate inter-institutional and multi-sector response plan following the already established objectives to serve populations in IPC Phase 3 or above with differentiated actions to reduce gaps in consumption of food, recover and protect livelihoods.
2. Target the population in situations of vulnerability to acute food insecurity at the municipal level and departmental that meets characteristics such as the depletion of its reserves and the use of crisis or emergency strategies. 
3. Make efficient the timely delivery of social protection programs, food assistance and direct transfers to producers, through a mechanism that responds to essential needs.
4. Improve coordination with cooperation and government programs and projects that encourage recovery of livelihoods and generation of response capacities with small farmers and entrepreneurs.
5. Encourage the creation of medium-term response mechanisms that contribute to resilience, such as establishment of reserves of basic grains, food banks and the assurance of local markets.
6. Promote marketing mechanisms that improve the circuit between producers and consumers to facilitate the access to food in quantity and quality.