International Committee of the Red Cross

In 2023, 149 million people in Africa faced food insecurity, with 82% of them—122 million—living in conflict zones. This stark reality highlights that violence and instability are the primary drivers of Africa’s food crisis. At the end of March 2024 already, 158.5 million people in West African countries, including the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, struggled to find sufficient food. Food security in the African continent is a cyclical, persistent concern, particularly during the lean season. Armed conflict impacts every dimension of food security: people displaced by hostilities lose access to their fields and other sources of livelihoods. Farmers and herders face conflict-related risks in carrying out their work, which impairs their ability to produce enough food. Essential services providing access to water and sanitation are disrupted, leading to outbreak of water-borne diseases and increasing the risk of malnutrition, particularly amongst young children. The conduct of hostilities may also directly imperil the delivery of health care and humanitarian aid. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stands out as a multidisciplinary, protection-focused, and principled food security actor in war zones and other situations of violence. Our approach is tailored to the complexities of armed conflicts. Nearly half of our Africa budget—346 million Swiss Francs—directly or indirectly addresses food insecurity across 17 countries. Our unique access to conflict-affected regions of Africa – along with your support – would enable us to deliver life-saving aid to starving families, strengthen community resilience by reinforcing their food production capacities, and improve access to essential services for millions of families across Africa. We work towards reducing communities’ exposure to risks created by armed conflict and other violence – for example, the risk of sexual violence that women face going to work in the fields. We provide emergency food assistance to those most in need, and help people cultivate their fields or rear their livestock. We maintain and support essential services, such as primary health care and access to water, sanitation and hygiene, in the fight against malnutrition. In 2024, 1,113,190 people obtain adequate food from the ICRC, and 3,957,713 people who will produce food more sustainably in Africa utilizing tools and seeds provided by the ICRC. You can find more information about our work at our website www.icrc.org

ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES - October 7, 2023 - September 25, 2024 Supporting vulnerable people in meeting basic needs and sustaining livelihoods • Provided cash assistance to cover basic needs for 64,295 vulnerable individuals (or 12,859 vulnerable households) in Gaza, mostly persons internally displaced by the ongoing hostilities. • Distributed traditional clay ovens to 12 camps in Khan Younis, benefiting 20,400 individuals; 17 camps in the Middle Area, benefiting 37,500 individuals; and 12 camps in Gaza, serving 12,000 individuals. • Provided essential household items, including blankets, jerrycans, tarpaulins and hygiene parcels to 1,365,695 internally displaced persons (or 273,139 households) accommodated in non-UN shelters in Gaza, Khan Younis and the Middle Area. • Delivered high nutritional food bars to 199,509 vulnerable individuals, including children, pregnant women and displaced persons across the Gaza Strip. Plumpy Nut nutritional support was provided to 2,857 individuals. • Supported five common kitchens in Rafah, enabling 25,000 vulnerable individuals to receive one cooked meal every day from mid-March to May. • Provided ready-to-eat food parcels to 15,149 vulnerable individuals in Gaza. • Provided cash assistance to 909 Palestinian detainees who were released from Israel and returned to Gaza, 342 of whom also received basic clothing. • In the West Bank, 2,640 vulnerable individuals (or 534 vulnerable households) received cash grants to support livestock production, 46 diploma students received vocational training at the Polytechnic University in Hebron, 13 vulnerable households received cash grants to start income-generation activities, and 243 vulnerable households received cash support to help them recover from the consequences of specific incidents of violence in the West Bank. • Provided cash assistance to 575 families whose houses were demolished in various locations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to help them meet their immediate needs. • Supported 1,110 individuals (or 222 households) as part of the Cash-for-Agriculture Program. • Distributed aid to 510 individuals (or 102 households) as part of the Safety Net Program. • Provided 742 farmers in the West Bank with 25,000 ecological traps to protect their trees from the olive fruit fly, enabling them to increase their olive trees’ production. Please visit our website www.icrc.org for more information on our work in this conflict region. Thank you for your support.

The ICRC’s water and habitat programme aims to restore or expand access to a wide range of essential services for people-affected by conflict – and ultimately, improve their living conditions and quality of life. Ethiopia: clean water closer to home In Ethiopia, a lack of running water was a daily reality for thousands in Roggee, a small town in Oromia region affected by both conflict and climate change. Hindia Adem, a seventy-year-old resident, says: “At my age, I walked 20 kilometers to fetch dirty water. We left for water at 2am and returned at 1pm. Our children were exhausted.” Everything changed after we dug a deep water well and set up a system consisting of pumps powered by solar panels and a back-up generator, and pipes connecting the water source to the local clinic, cattle troughs and other important facilities. “Now we are free from all that burden,” she says. “I feel so delighted for a moment like this.” Myanmar: a place to call their own Many areas of Kachin State in Myanmar have now become silent spaces scarred by armed conflict, with many people forced to flee for their safety. “We had been living in the camp for ten years,” says Ngwa Lu Paw. But every family deserves a home of their own. So, we built one for him and his family, and dozens of others. We equipped each house with a kitchen, a private toilet, solar power and clean water systems. “We are grateful that we now have a place to live” he says. His child has already put a personal touch on their new walls. ICRC helped 36 million people will have better access to clean water and other basic services. You can make a difference - thank you for your support.