The Greatest Food Crisis Since WWII

The UN World Food Program reports that 50 million people across 45 countries are at the brink of starvation. And UNICEF notes that one in five children worldwide are chronically malnourished.

So why is this happening? Sadly, a perfect storm of factors are colliding to create a catastrophic situation:

1. The impacts of COVID-19 pushed even more people into poverty. Family livelihoods and economies were devastated, and supply chains were severely disrupted. The results left one in eight people severely food insecure. Two years later, these families are still struggling to put food on the table.
2. Extreme weather like hurricanes, cyclones and droughts increase global hunger by shrinking harvests and skyrocketing food prices. Many of the world’s hungriest countries rely on agriculture as their main industry. This means when there is no harvest, there is often no food.
3. Food has suddenly become very expensive. Families in emerging economies already spend an average of 25% of their budgets on food – and up to 40% in sub-Saharan Africa and 60% in Haiti. Rising food costs can place poor households, especially those with children, in life-or-death situations. Compassion has already seen a 49% increase in our food crisis intervention funding since last year.?
4. The global food supply chain is severely impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war. These two countries provide almost 30% of the world’s wheat – plus barley, sunflower seed oil and corn. With Russia’s exports blocked by many countries and the war’s impact on Ukraine’s planting season, a huge supply of the world’s food is disrupted. This hits poor and developing countries the hardest, and tips an already fragile world toward mass hunger.
5. Conflict – within countries and across borders. Conflict is the biggest driver of hunger globally. It’s estimated to be responsible for 65% of people currently facing hunger and food insecurity. Conflict tears apart families, communities, infrastructures, food systems and entire regions.

It’s hard to fathom the scale of the response needed to fight this global food crisis.

In the short-term, we’re providing food packs or direct cash transfers to families at risk of food insecurity. This assistance extends to the children and families in Compassion’s program, along with local church partner staff, volunteers and pastors. Each food pack includes essentials like rice, eggs, meat, milk and corn, feeding a family of five for one month.

Our longer-term strategy to help vulnerable families build resilience against food insecurity involves equipping them with seed, fertilizer, livestock and training on how to build and maintain gardens and small-scale farms – as appropriate in each context. This is in addition to Compassion’s longstanding interventions such as income generation activities, vocational training and micro-finance savings groups. Our goal is to prepare participants to be thriving followers of Jesus that positively influencing their world.

The need is immense, but these efforts are making a positive impact – one child at a time, and one family at a time.

I invite you to learn more about partnering with us.

Blessings to you.