About 9.4 million people are estimated to have been in immediate need of assistance (phases 3-5) during the October‑December 2019 period in the 16 countries analysed in the Sahel and West Africa region (excluding Liberia), including 4 million in Nigeria, 1.5 million in Niger and 1.2 million in Burkina Faso. This is more than twice as many severely food insecure people compared to the same period in 2018. This situation is likely to worsen, mainly due to insecurity. By June-August 2020, 14.4 million people (5.4%) are projected to be in a crisis situation or worse, including 1.2 million in an emergency situation (phase 4). Vulnerable food insecure populations are concentrated in the conflict‑affected areas in the Liptako‑Gourma region and the Lake Chad basin. The border area between Mauritania and Mali will also be in a crisis situation, mainly due to a significant biomass deficit, which is likely to lead to early transhumance and high livestock concentration areas. In Borno State of Nigeria, 1.1 million people, or 23% of the population analysed, are facing a “Crisis” situation or worse (phases 3-5). Some areas are still not accessible to humanitarian actors, and the situation of people living in these areas remains unknown. In addition, people in refugee camps or for internally displaced people  (IDPs) face a severe food consumption deficit in terms of quantity and quality. Some 262 000 people, or a third of people living in nine IDP camps, are facing a “Crisis” situation or worse (phases 3-5). Civil insecurity has led to a sharp increase in the number of displaced persons, particularly in northern Burkina Faso (480 000 people), northwestern Nigeria (310 000 people) and Niger (180 000 people). Nearly 1.9 million people continue to be internally displaced in Nigeria. The majority are hosted in local communities, placing increasing pressure on food resources and local livelihoods in the short and long term.

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