It’s  appealing for $204 million immediately to purchase food and transport it to the region to help millions of hungry people.

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World Food Programme  Executive Director Ertharin Cousin says in a telephone briefing from Malawi that 18 million people need emergency food assistance in seven countries severely affected by El Nino — Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

She says  WFP is anticipating an escalation in needs later this year and estimates that approximately 33 million people will be impacted by El Nino and the upcoming La Nina, which could bring severe flooding.

Cousin points to a more than 150 percent increase in people without enough to eat in Malawi as well as a 99 percent increase in Swaziland and a 53 percent increase in Lesotho.

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