Among all the African countries under military rule (with the exception of Niger which recently came under military rule in July 2023), Mali is the most food secure, with 84% of its population in Phase 1 (minimal food insecurity).
The worst case for some of the countries above is part of the population being in a crisis. However, Sudan has 10% of their population in stage phase 4 i.e. facing extreme consumption gaps whilst Burkina Faso has just 2% of its population under such emergency conditions.
According to the Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS) methodology, Phase1 food insecurity means that households have enough access to food with minimal to no effort. Phase 2 refers to declining food security, with households being moderately food insecure but still able to meet basic food needs.
By Phase 3, households are in crisis and have inadequate food consumption resulting in malnutrition. Phase 4 means households are facing extreme food consumption gaps and severe malnutrition. By Phase 5 (famine), there is an extreme lack of food access, resulting in very high malnutrition rates and excess mortality.
From phase 2, households require some level of assistance, which becomes increasingly critical as the situation worsens.
