Nearly 258 million people in 58 countries were acutely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance in 2022, according to the Global Report on Food Crises. This is an increase of 65 million people since 2021 — and the situation is expected to worsen further still.
The war in Ukraine has disrupted global food supplies, with poorer countries disproportionately affected. This is further impacting food systems that were already hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. The consequences on affected populations range from malnutrition to economic insecurity, gender-based violence, and population displacement.
“The food crisis is a combination of different crises coming together,” said Ina Hogendoorn, crisis coordinator at the Dutch Relief Alliance, a coalition of 14 organizations providing coordinated humanitarian responses around the world in partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “And now it really has a global impact.”
With no end in sight for the current drivers of acute food insecurity, humanitarian organizations must reckon with the limitations of existing approaches to delivering aid, placing a greater focus on helping communities build resilience and prepare for a future of recurring shocks.