Although global food production would be sufficient to feed 8 billion people, up to 2.3 billion face moderate or severe food insecurity, say the authors of the latest report on the state of food security and nutrition in the world (SOFI).
The report indicates that in 2023, between 713 and 757 million people will experience severe malnutrition or hunger – that's as many as 1 in 11 people worldwide. The most difficult situation occurs on the African continent, where the rate is 1 in 5 people. Asia is home to more than half of the world's hungry people, where over 8% of people face this problem. population. Additionally, between 2022 and 2023, hunger levels increased in West Asia, the Caribbean, and most subregions of Africa.
Hunger and food insecurity
Hunger is not only the unpleasant feeling of an empty stomach. The lack of vitamins and microelements in the poor diet of millions of malnourished children around the world does not allow them for proper psychophysical development and is the main cause of reduced resistance to diseases. People who struggle with malnutrition live shorter lives and are not as productive and engaged in their communities as those who have stable access to food. In low-income countries, almost three-quarters of people cannot afford a healthy diet. In high-income countries, this number falls below 7 percent.
In today's world, the main problems are malnutrition and hidden hunger. Malnutrition weakens the body and makes it susceptible to various diseases. In children it reduces the ability to learn, and in adults it makes it difficult to concentrate on work. In turn, hidden hunger is a chronic deficiency of vitamins and minerals. Unlike malnutrition and hunger, hidden hunger does not necessarily have to do with too little food, but rather with poor quality and little variety.
If current trends continue, approximately 582 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030, half of them in African countries, warns the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Social groups such as children, women and refugees remain the most vulnerable to the problem of hunger. Already, according to the 2024 Global Hunger Index, hunger levels are considered severe in 36 countries.
Causes of the food crisis
Experts point to three factors as the reason for the difficult food situation in recent years. The first is armed conflicts that affect all stages of the food supply chain, from production to its distribution. Wars also lead to mass displacement of people, taking away access to their homes and means of living. They also affect food prices, causing them to rise dramatically. They are destroying the economy, taking away jobs and deepening the economic crisis. Finally, food is sometimes used as a weapon, and limiting access to it is a means of creating pressure and weakening the opposing party. An example of this is the blockade of ports in Yemen during the ongoing conflict, which prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid and food imports into the country, leading to widespread famine. Another example is the disastrous situation in the Gaza Strip, where humanitarian aid for millions of people trapped there is blocked.
The second reason for the deepening food crisis in various parts of the world are natural disasters and climate change. Prolonged droughts, devastating floods, tropical cyclones and hurricanes are causing devastation, forcing families to flee their homes and farms. This makes it impossible to cultivate crops and raise animals. Climate change affects not only the quantity but also the quality of food. Studies show that higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reduce the nutritional value of crops. In plants such as rice, corn and wheat, the content of protein, microelements and vitamins decreases. Farmers and people who support their families only by growing crops in their own gardens pay the highest price for climate change. This situation is faced by millions of people in the Horn of Africa – Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia – where the worst food crisis in decades is ongoing.
The last factor indicated in the report is the increase in food prices, which was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a time of serious disruptions in global supply chains, restrictions on market activity, as well as the collapse or temporary downtime of many companies. The pandemic also resulted in an increase in energy prices and, consequently, in an increase in the prices of food products. For many children who only ate a hot meal at school, the switch to distance learning meant the lack of a nutritious lunch. The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that the number of people in the world affected by hunger may have increased by up to 130 million in 2020 alone.
Threat to health and life
Hunger and malnutrition always trigger a response from humanitarian organizations whose mission is to save human life and health – including by ensuring access to food. In Poland, these tasks are carried out, among others, by: Polish Humanitarian Action, an international organization. PAH is present in places of sudden disasters and natural disasters, as well as in countries with prolonged crises, building the resilience of local communities to their effects.
The Polish Humanitarian Action conducts its activities for access to food primarily in Poland – since 1998 it has been implementing the Pajacyk program – food support – in schools. Only during the pandemic, as part of the #PajacykBezPrzerwy campaign, we managed to provide nearly 1,000 families with food weighing a total of 35 tons.
PAH is also available in places of prolonged food crises – in Somalia, South Sudan, Kenya, Ukraine and Madagascar. The organization provides food in places of sudden disasters, such as the earthquake in Turkey, Syria and Morocco. An important element of PAH is also providing access to water, which is inextricably linked to access to food. In 2023 alone, PAH provided assistance to 1.3 million people in 11 countries – allocating over PLN 130 million in aid.
Find out more about PAH's activities: pah.org.pl/co-robimy/zywnosc/