Opinion: Climate-related hunger is rising — we must act now

Three years ago, floods turned fields into ponds across South Sudan’s Jonglei State, where we estimate roughly 80% of people rely on livestock and subsistence farming to survive. Unable to plant seeds or feed their herds, severely malnourished families resorted to eating water lilies, with harsh health consequences. Floodwaters still remain — one example of how the climate crisis has become a hunger crisis — with devastating impacts.

Mounting disasters and chronic climate stress are reducing crop yields and making harvests less nutritious. Of the 35 countries at greatest risk from climate change, 27 are already experiencing extreme food insecurity. There is still time to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, fostering resilience while supporting recovery efforts.

The long road to recovery

Recovery from climate shocks — or adjusting to the new normal — can involve everything from soil remediation to rebuilding livestock herds. A single failed harvest is hard enough, but disasters have a long tail. People have less, yet need to spend more to replace everything from household goods to tools of their trade. Since their neighbors do, too, inflation rises.

To stretch limited resources, people cut back on basics such as school fees or a balanced diet. The painful need to sell livestock and household items further erodes essential assets.

Impacts on mental health compound the crisis, tearing the social fabric of communities and straining their resilience. Negative coping mechanisms, from taking children out of school to substance misuse, can perpetuate cycles of poverty and heighten the risk of conflict, which can lead to greater hunger.

The interplay of climate and conflict increasingly forces people to flee their homes searching for safety and survival, putting greater pressure on fragile food systems.

With almost seven in 10 people projected to live in cities by 2050, we must transform food systems to ensure food is not only available to all but is also healthy and affordable.

New solutions needed

To provide both near-term relief and long-term solutions, we need flexible funding mechanisms that allow NGOs to more rapidly roll out evidence-based programs such as cash transfers and livelihood support. For example, we know how to help pastoralists rebuild livestock herds, prioritizing female animals and helping them reproduce, which creates a foundation for long-term recovery.

Yet, existing solutions aren’t enough, particularly in areas with alternating droughts and floods. Innovation is essential.

Part of resilience building is helping communities learn what to grow and how to manage livestock during periods of flux. For example, in South Sudan, Joe Joe Zubahyea, Action Against Hunger’s head of base in Paguir, introduced new, low-cost ways to turn damaging floodwaters into an asset that enabled farming families to feed themselves: growing rice.

“This area traditionally cultivates sorghum and maize, so the first challenge was to convince people that this is something that they could do,” said Zubahyea.

Following his example, the community soon learned the art of seed broadcasting, nursery preparation, transplantation, and harvesting. The income from this low-tech innovation has enabled dozens of women to manage their own rice patties, promoting social and economic resilience.

Promoting resilience

Strategic investments in more resilient alternatives to traditional food practices can help shield communities from the worst impacts of climate change.

In Zambia, through Action Against Hunger’s Seeds of Hope program, farmers are now planting climate-resilient crops and practicing new land management techniques in a drought-prone area. It’s paying off: Every $450 of investment in cowpea seeds is realizing more than a $5,000 return, our analysis shows.

The first harvest is expected to yield 30 metric tons of beans, a good protein source with nitrogen-fixing qualities that enrich the soil.

Science is key to modifying agriculture to the changing climate, which is why Action Against Hunger engages with research institutions. Artificial intelligence may help accelerate the speed with which we introduce the new varieties of crops and livestock.

For example, in the Horn of Africa, where prolonged drought killed nearly 13 million livestock in the last three years, newly introduced Galla goats — hardy, heat-tolerant, and bred for low-water conditions — have aided survival. In Pakistan, as rising seas kill traditional crops, livelihoods are being protected through new approaches to farming, such as saline-resistant crops such as sugar beets.

In Bangladesh, our programs are transforming floodwaters into fish farms. In Zimbabwe, pollinator-friendly farming techniques are boosting crop production and biodiversity.

Crucially, these efforts are also promoting equity, helping vulnerable people, often women, earn a living on marginal land. Whereas traditional development approaches often result in programs driven by funders, not the communities who know their context best, localized approaches direct power to those most impacted by climate and hunger, with their voices shaping the approach.

For example, it was the women in Kenya who came up with the idea of raising goats, and Action Against Hunger experts who helped identify and source the breed.

To be most effective, we must continue to prioritize localized approaches along with a greater focus on hunger prevention.

Hunger prevention is key

Big picture, we need more urgent action to limit warming to 1.5°C and prevent biodiversity loss, and there is no question that more sustainable food systems must play a role. This is a daily challenge for millions.

The world produces more than enough food for everyone, yet nearly one in 10 people worldwide goes to bed hungry. There is broad public support for greater funding and action to address climate-related food insecurity — and fears about what will happen if we don’t. In fact, 67% of people globally worry about food shortages leading to hoarding and riots.

Perhaps that’s why new research from Action Against Hunger and The Harris Poll found that a whopping 77% of Americans want greater government action on climate change to address food insecurity. 72% of Americans believe climate change is already creating shortages of key foods in low- and middle-income countries and 57% agree that higher-income countries, like the U.S., should help low-income countries pay for the costs of adapting to climate change.

Addressing climate-linked hunger is not only a humanitarian imperative, but key to advancing political stability, workforce development, and long-term economic growth — and for millions it’s about survival itself.

Action Against Hunger is a nonprofit leader in the global movement to end hunger, innovating solutions, advocating for change, and reaching 28 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs spanning 55 countries. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.

Visit Food Secured —a series that explores how to save the food system and where experts share groundbreaking solutions for a sustainable and resilient future.

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