Global Report on Food Crisis: Over 100 million people experience acute hunger worldwide

03 Apr 2019 --- Over 100 million people still experience acute hunger globally, although research is suggesting there has been a gradual decline over the past year. This is according to a joint report issued yesterday by the EU, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The estimate fell to 113 million people in 2018, compared to 124 million in 2017. Moreover, the report also notes that the number of countries affected by food insecurity has risen. Ending conflicts, empowering women and reinforcing social safety-nets were noted as essential for a resilient, stable and hunger-free world.

Acute food insecurity is defined in this context as the condition in which a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger.

Nearly two-thirds of those facing acute hunger are in just 8 countries: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In 17 countries, acute hunger either remained the same or increased. Climate and natural disasters pushed another 29 million people into acute food insecurity in 2018.

From 2014 to 2020, the EU will have provided nearly €9 billion for initiatives on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture in over 60 countries, according to Neven Mimica, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development at the European Commission.

Large data gaps impede global oversight
But there are limitations to the research, present in the large data gaps in the overview of world hunger. In the report, 13 countries are excluded from the analysis because of data gaps – including Venezuela and North Korea. Information and technology have been called essential in capturing significant changes in food security, especially in fragile countries and contexts, on a near real-time basis.

Collecting and analyzing data on vulnerable populations are vital tools in ensuring that not only outcomes of food shortages are taken into consideration, but also hunger’s key drivers. This helps to facilitate a targeted and integrated response for multiple cooperators working in development and humanitarian spheres.  

“FAO is investing significantly in building up national capacities to accurately report on food insecurity – even in difficult operating environments,” Patrick Jacqueson, Senior Programme Officer at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, tells NutritionInsight.

“For example, with EU funding we have managed to build up Yemen’s capacity in half of the country’s governorates and during the next 12 months we will help them expand data coverage to all 22 governorates,” he notes. 

The roots of hunger run deep
The report urges strengthened cooperation from the international community that links together prepared, preventative and responsive action to address urgent humanitarian needs and the root causes of hunger − listed here as climate change, economic shocks, conflict and displacement. 

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. Millions more are at risk unless we address the root causes of crises and build up people’s ability to withstand shocks,” says Jacqueson. 

“Resilient agriculture and food systems are at the heart of the response. FAO is promoting an approach which will not only address the short term but also work on the longer term, promoting actions across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.” 

FAO is advocating for prevention and investments in resilient agriculture as well as advocating for early actions before a crisis develops, which is more efficient. FAO is also giving a prominent role to women who are key actors in the agricultural sector.

Envisioning the end of global food insecurity
The report highlights that humanitarian assistance and spending needs have grown by around 127 percent in the last ten years – approximately 40 percent of that went to cover needs in the food and agriculture subsectors.

Researchers say that a surge in humanitarian needs – as well as the potential for agricultural development and rural resilience-building to provide a buffer against crises – emphasizes the need for a new way of responding to the food security challenges of this new era.