Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, will visit Nigeria and several other West African nations beginning this weekend.
The purpose of the tour, according to the UN, would be to illustrate the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the African continent.
Following visits to Russia and Ukraine this week, Guterres will arrive in Senegal on Saturday evening for an official visit on May 1 and 2.
He would next be in Niger till May 3 before wrapping out his trip in Nigeria on May 3 and 4.
In Senegal, he will have a traditional Ramadan sunset supper with President Macky Sall, the current chairman of the African Union, according to Farhan Haq, the UN deputy spokesperson, at a daily press conference.
In all three countries, the UN chief would meet with civil society representatives and religious leaders as well, the spokesman said.
Talks had also been planned with victims of violence, instability, and terrorism in the Sahel.
Concerns over the wider impacts of the war in Ukraine had been especially acute in the Middle East and Africa, where knock-on effects were already playing out.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation warned earlier in April that the disruption to exports resulting from the February 24 invasion, coupled with the international sanctions on Russia, had spurred fears of a global hunger crisis.
The FAO estimated famine in West Africa and the Sahel regions both highly dependent on Russian and Ukrainian grains could worsen and affect over 38 million people by June if no measures were taken.
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