Food crisis

 As many as 828 million people go to bed hungry every night, the number of those facing acute food insecurity has soared - from 135 million to 345 million - since 2019. A total of 50 million people in 45 countries are teetering on the edge of famine.

While needs are sky-high, resources have hit rock bottom. The World Food Programme (WFP) requires US$24 billion to reach 153 million people in 2022. However, with the global economy reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, the gap between needs and funding is bigger than ever before. 

We are at a critical crossroads. To avert the hunger catastrophe the world is facing, everyone must step up alongside government donors, whose generous donations constitute the bulk of WFP’s funding. Private sector companies can support our work through technical assistance and knowledge transfers, as well as financial contributions. High net-worth individuals and ordinary citizens alike can all play a part, and youth, influencers and celebrities can raise their voices against the injustice of global hunger. 

Unless the necessary resources are made available, lost lives and the reversal of hard-earned development gains will be the price to pay.

The four causes of hunger and famine

But why is the world hungrier than ever?

This seismic hunger crisis has been caused by a deadly combination of four factors:

Conflict is still the biggest driver of hunger, with 60 percent of the world's hungry living in areas afflicted by war and violence. Events unfolding in Ukraine are further proof of how conflict feeds hunger, forcing people out of their homes and wiping out their sources of income.

Climate shocks destroy lives, crops and livelihoods, and undermine people’s ability to feed themselves.

The economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are driving hunger to unprecedented levels.

Costs are also at an all-time high: WFP’s monthly operating costs are US$73.6 million above their 2019 average – a staggering 44 percent rise. The extra now spent on operating costs would have previously fed 4 million people for one month.

Food crisis usually produces widespread scarcity of food in a society. It is usually caused by numerous factors such as  failure, population explosion, government policies, and inaction in terms of food production. Food crisis usually results in hunger, starvation and malnutrition in the society.

High food prices have triggered a global crisis that is driving millions more into extreme poverty, magnifying hunger and malnutrition. According to a World Bank report, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a major setback in global poverty reduction.

GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS

Today, millions of children are facing the worst hunger crisis that the world has seen in decades.

Forty-five million people are close to starvation right now – facing famine or famine-like conditions – with children and women hit the hardest. Twenty-six million children under 5 are suffering from wasting, which is the most visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition.   
 

2022 food crises

Food insecurity has been rising since 2018. Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the increasing frequency and severity of climate shocks, regional conflicts and the pandemic were all taking their toll, disrupting food production and distribution, and driving up the cost of feeding people and families.

The situation took an even more dramatic turn with the war in Ukraine. This pushed the prices of food and fertilizers higher still—hurting importers and prompting several countries to impose export restrictions.

The impact of the food shock is felt everywhere. The suffering is worst in 48 countries, many highly dependent on imports from Ukraine and Russia—mostly low-income countries. Of those, about half are especially vulnerable due to severe economic challenges, weak institutions, and fragility.

Alongside the human toll, the financial costs are also escalating.  IMF staff estimates the impact of higher import costs for food and fertilizer for highly exposed to food insecurity will add $9 billion to their balance of payments pressures—in 2022 and 2023. This will erode countries’ international reserves, and their ability to pay for food and fertilizer imports.

In many places, even though food prices have eased somewhere from recent peaks, still high food—and energy—prices have fueled a cost-of-living crisis that is likely to increase poverty and hurt growth, potentially fueling political instability.

As a result, policymakers in many countries have introduced fiscal measures to protect people from the current food crisis. For this year alone, we estimate that highly exposed countries need as much as $7 billion to help the poorest households cope.

Rapid response

Strong and swift policy action is needed across four areas to mitigate the global food crisis and avert human suffering.

First, rapidly and adequately support people vulnerable to food insecurity through humanitarian assistance from the World Food Programme and other organizations, alongside effective domestic fiscal measures. Policymakers around the world should prioritize fighting inflation and protecting the most vulnerable to alleviate the burden of the cost-of-living crisis. Near-term social assistance should focus on providing emergency food relief or cash transfers to the poor, such as those recently announced by Djibouti, Honduras, and Sierra Leone. Where this is not possible, second-best subsidies and tax measures can provide temporary relief.

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