Opinion: Solving the global food crisis requires investment at scale

Nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide go hungry today, yet the global response remains fragmented across thousands of small projects. Letting developing nations lead their own fight against hunger, backed by coordinated multilateral funding through proven institutions such as the World Bank's International Development Association, is key in solving the food and nutrition crisis.

Food insecurity is increasing as conflict, climate change, and economic shocks combine to deliver a severe blow to the global commitment to end hunger, destabilizing countries and undermining international peace and prosperity. The fight against hunger should therefore be at the forefront of the international agenda.

The increasingly siloed international aid architecture is a major challenge. This is clearly seen in the agricultural sector, where bilateral funding accounts for about 73% of all aid for agriculture, spread across nearly 14,000 different projects with an average funding of only $500,000. These interventions need to be consolidated and scaled up if meaningful progress is to be made.