DAKAR: The UN World Food Programme sounded the alarm on Friday over escalating hunger in west and central Africa as needs reach “record levels”.More than 36 million people are struggling to meet their food needs, a number that could rise to 52 million people during the lean season between harvests this summer, the agency said in a statement.“Persistent conflict, displacement, economic deterioration and recurrent extreme weather in West and Central Africa are driving millions of people towards emergency levels of hunger,” it said.The WFP had previously referred to an “unprecedented crisis” at the end of March due to a 40-percent reduction in its funding for 2025.The halt of aid programmes under the US Agency for International Development (USAID), made by President Donald Trump upon his return to the White House, along with cuts to aid spending by several Western countries, have worsened the situation.The WFP said at the end of April that it would have to reduce its workforce by 25 to 30 percent worldwide.Five million people risk losing assistance altogether unless urgent funding is received, the WFP said.“We are at a tipping point and millions of lives are at stake,” said Margot van der Velden, the WFP’s regional director for West and Central Africa.“Without immediate funding, WFP will be forced to scale down even further both in the number of people reached and the size of food rations distributed.”