essay on how to solve world hunger

How to End World Hunger: 6 Zero Hunger Solutions

We are at the crossroads of one of the greatest challenges of our time: How do we end world hunger? There are 828 million hungry people in the world, including 349 million people facing severe hunger. While this is the largest global food crisis in modern history, we have the solutions for a zero hunger world.

In 2012, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Zero Hunger challenge as the U.N. plan to end world hunger. The challenge reflects five elements from within the Sustainable Development Goals which taken together can end hunger. These Zero Hunger solutions can massively transform agriculture and food systems. In addition to these five solutions, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) knows the majority of the world’s hungriest people live in conflict-affected areas. For this reason, we include a sixth Zero Hunger solution: break the cycle of conflict and hunger.

Here is how the U.N. World Food Programme works tirelessly to execute these solutions and end world hunger.

1. Break the Cycle of Conflict and Hunger

With almost 60% of the world’s hungriest people living in conflict affected zones , conflict is the greatest challenge to Zero Hunger .

Conflict and hunger create a vicious cycle. When war erupts, instability forces people to find illicit and sometimes violent means of acquiring their necessities. In this unstable period where access to food is fought over, the risk of social unrest heightens.

The U.N. World Food Programme is on the frontlines of the world’s worst conflicts, going where others can’t to deliver lifesaving food in the hardest-to-reach areas. The agency’s work to solve hunger has contributed to improving prospects for peace – effectively breaking the conflict and hunger cycle. In conflict zones, the U.N. World Food Programme is there to provide food and cash assistance, keep kids in classrooms with school meals and rebuild infrastructure through community projects.

In 2020, the U.N. World Food Programme became the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and was recognized by the Nobel Committee “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.” The U.N. World Food Programme’s Nobel Peace Prize is a powerful call to action, recognizing the important link between conflict and hunger and the critical role of food assistance as a building block to peace and stability.

Related Articles:

• How Much Would It Cost to End World Hunger?

2. Increase Sustainability and Build Resilience to Climate Change

Adak Nyuol Bol stands outside her farm which has been submerged by floodwaters. South Sudan is on the frontlines of the climate crisis and currently experiencing a fourth consecutive year of flooding.

Climate extremes are one of the main drivers of severe  hunger . We have entered a ‘new normal’ where consecutive and extreme weather events – like droughts, flooding, hurricanes and cyclones – decimate farming and drive displacement. As a result, communities constantly operate in recovery mode: Diminished economies, destroyed infrastructure and disrupted access to food significantly reduce people’s capacity to rebuild their livelihoods and prepare for the next imminent disaster.

The U.N. World Food Programme helps communities build resilience to climate change through long-term solutions including:

• Reforestation and land rehabilitation projects
• Climate insurance for small-scale farmers
• Providing local institutions with access to sustainable energy solutions

To tackle the challenges of climate change, food availability and food access, we must also help farmers grow a more diverse range of crops and livestock. That’s why the U.N. World Food Programme teaches farmers new techniques, equips them with tools and educates their communities about the nutritional importance of eating a wide range of foods.

3. Address Poverty & Inequality Through Social Safety Nets

Poverty and inequality are the root causes of global hunger. Imagine being a mother who must forgo her daily meals to feed her children, or a farmer who must sell food rations in exchange for farming equipment.

The U.N. World Food Programme helps governments strengthen national safety nets that safeguard their citizens from poverty, inequality and hunger. By 2030, the U.N. World Food Programme aims to substantially increase people’s access to their national social protection systems – thereby promoting equitable economic growth.

The U.N. World Food Programme is the world’s largest provider of humanitarian cash, distributing cash to over 40 million people across 70 countries . The global food crisis is mainly one of access where record-high prices mean people cannot buy what they need. Where markets are functioning, the U.N. World Food Programme can provide cash-based assistance in the form of bank notes, vouchers, debit cards, e-money or mobile money. Cash transfers empower families to decide how to spend their money while supporting local markets and economies.

Through Food for Assets projects, the U.N. World Food Programme offers food or cash assistance while participants work on community assets like roads, dams and irrigation systems. The community-centered approach of coming together to reinvigorate participants’ environment has extra benefits like promoting nutrition, gender equality and social protection. For example, in Mozambique, the Food For Assets program provides female farmers with opportunities to test out innovative farming techniques designed to build their harvests’ resilience to climate change. Participants may also receive agricultural training, which boosts their income and access to food.

4. Help Rural Farmers Connect to Markets

Francisca selling her vegetables at the local market in the community of Plan de Jocote, Chiquimula department.

One of the cruelest ironies of hunger is its disproportionate impact on small-scale farmers—the very people who grow food for a living. Small-scale farmers make up the majority of people living in poverty. Their economic losses come from lack of access to production inputs like proper storage, fertilizer and farming equipment as well as constant challenges from climate extremes.

The U.N. World Food Programme works to connect small-scale farmers to local economies while providing them with the resources to improve production, reduce their post-harvest losses, develop business skills and gain access to financial tools.

In over 40 countries the U.N. World Food Programme connects small-scale farmers to markets so that they can supply their own communities with lifesaving food. The program Purchase for Progress (P4P) partners farmers with the private sector, encouraging investments that diversify their crops and expand their business prospects.

5. Reduce Food Waste & Food Loss

The world produces more than enough food to feed everyone, and yet 828 million people still go to bed hungry each night. In high-income countries, 40% of food is wasted because people buy more food than they can consume. In low-income countries, where the vast majority of the world’s hungriest people live, most food loss occurs during the early stages of growth, harvest and storage.

The U.N. World Food Programme is working to eliminate food loss and waste by:

• Providing farmers with modern storage equipment like silos and air-tight bags
• Offering long-lasting foods like flour, dried beans and salt – all properly packaged in sturdy containers
• Investing in innovations like hydroponics that allow communities to grow, sell and store food in the harshest conditions
• Selling and storing food in impossible places due to exposure of extreme temperatures, excess dust and general pollution
• Advocating for policy that distributes American-grown crops to people in need – like the U.S. Farm Bill which supplies the U.N. World Food Programme with U.S. agricultural commodities like rice, corn, wheat and soybeans for people abroad

6. Eliminate Malnutrition in Mothers & Children

Ade Hassen Ali, 35, is a mother of seven. She gives her young daughter Plumpy’Sup, a nutritional peanut paste that helps prevent malnutrition.

45% of deaths among children under age 5 are caused by malnutrition. The first two years of a baby’s life are critical when it comes to receiving the nourishment they need to grow into a healthy adult. From Fortified Blended Foods to High Energy Biscuits, the U.N. World Food Programme ensures millions of children and pregnant and nursing women have access to specialized nutritious food. Last year, the U.N. World Food Programme reached more than 17 million mothers and children with programs to prevent and treat malnutrition.

What You Can Do to End World Hunger

Zero Hunger may seem like an impossible goal, but through these six solutions we can make this dream a reality. The U.N. World Food Programme plays a vital role in that work by:

• Ensuring people in conflict-affected areas will not have food weaponized against them
• Anticipating, responding to and building resilience against the shocks and stresses of climate extremes
• Leveraging social safety nets, cash assistance and infrastructure to financially empower communities and local markets
• Connecting small-scale farmers with the tools they need to maintain sustainable agriculture for their country’s food security
• Making sure that the ample food that is grown across the world does not go to waste due to improper management or redistribution
• Protecting groups affected by or at risk of malnutrition (primarily mothers and children) by supplying them with specialized nutritious foods

You also play a vital role in ending world hunger. There are a lot of ways you can be part of creating a Zero Hunger world like playing the Freerice game, signing advocacy petitions or starting a fundraising campaign. Discover how you can be part of the solution for global hunger.

Unless action is taken now, millions of people have the potential to fall into deeper levels of hunger. We can respond to this global emergency by addressing hunger at its root causes. We all have an obligation to build a future that better serves our planet and all the people that live on it.

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What is the best way to solve world hunger?

There is no single, easy solution to world hunger, but that does not mean it cannot be solved. 

A wide array of strategies are available to us, both at an institutional level and an individual level, that can help end hunger for good. You’ve come to the right place to find out what they are.

Concern has been working in the world’s poorest countries for over fifty years, with a focus on ending hunger as part of our larger goal to end extreme poverty. Our programmes tackle the root causes of hunger and our innovative solution for treating malnutrition has been at the forefront of the global response for decades.

Why is world hunger a problem?

The world actually managed to reduce hunger significantly from 1991 to 2014. Since then, however, it has been slowly on the rise. A combination of conflict , the climate crisis , and the knock-on effects of COVID-19 have left the world losing progress in the fight for Zero Hunger . 

» Learn more about the causes of world hunger .

Although the climate crisis is currently having a greater impact in low and middle income countries, the increasingly dependent nature of our food systems means that our global food system as a whole will come under threat. Ultimately, we are all at risk from hunger.

Ending world hunger is possible. But it requires political and collective action to actually achieve it. The solutions are there. 

How to solve world hunger

No single idea will solve world hunger alone. But there is a range of solutions available to us, from an institutional to an individual level that, collectively, can bring us to zero hunger. The following nine solutions are all approaches adopted and promoted by Concern that can be implemented at a local and national level by governments and other state bodies.

1. Boost social protection programmes, especially for the most vulnerable

Social welfare systems have proved to be hugely effective forms of support. But for many of the world’s most vulnerable communities, there is no such social safety net in times of crisis. We aim to provide this support through our  cash transfer programme in countries like Somalia. It is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities that are worst affected by hunger. By identifying these groups and supporting them first, we can eliminate hunger. 

» Learn more about the link between extreme poverty and hunger .

2. Switch to Climate Smart Agriculture

Climate change and hunger exist in a vicious cycle. More frequent and longer-lasting periods of extreme temperatures, flood events, and dry spells leave many families — especially those who work in agriculture — unable to put food on the table. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is a broad term that encompasses a number of practices. But all of these solutions allow farmers to adapt and become more resilient against an unpredictable climate.

These practices include diversifying crop varieties, conservation agriculture, and low-water sack gardens. Time and again, we’ve seen families benefit both nutritionally and financially from these solutions.

» Learn more about Climate Smart Agriculture .

3. Fostering gender equality

Gender equality is another priority solution to world hunger, especially in two key areas: agriculture and maternal and child health. Women make up approximately half of the agricultural workforce in many of the countries where Concern works, and data from the Food and Agriculture Organization suggest that giving female farmers equal access to resources as their male counterparts could increase production  on their farms by 20-30%. This could in turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world by up to 150 million.

Hunger affects maternal health , making female nutrition essential to ending hunger. According to the World Food Programme, women are more likely than men to go hungry in nearly two-thirds of the world’s countries. By prioritising women’s health and nutrition, we can prevent not only health complications for them if and when they have children, but also for the children they bear. This begins with puberty and continues through pregnancy, breastfeeding, and on through healthy habits that children can maintain for the rest of their lives.

» Learn more about women and hunger .

4. Strengthen food systems

A food system is the cycle in which food is produced and prepared for people to then buy, cook, and eat. All parts of these systems need to be working in order to ensure that communities reach low levels of hunger and malnutrition and have a form of stability in their health and nutrition on which they can build a stronger community overall. By ensuring that people not only have enough food today, but that they also have the means of getting enough food every day, we’re able to get one step closer to Zero Hunger.

» Learn more about food systems .

5. Improve hygiene and sanitation

Even when families have enough food to eat, if they don’t have access to water, sanitation and hygiene, they become susceptible to diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases that could prevent them from absorbing the necessary nutrients from their food. Children are particularly vulnerable to becoming malnourished in this way. A huge focus of our health programme is ensuring that people have access to clean, safe water and adequate hygiene and sanitation services.

6. Promote disaster risk reduction

Investing in disaster risk reduction — especially in vulnerable communities — mitigates potential losses in the wake of disasters for those who stand to lose the most. Most of the people with whom we work are involved in subsistence agriculture, meaning that they grow what they eat. For many, their harvests are never enough, and the prospect of losing what they do grow is the very definition of disaster. Simple techniques to protect and diversify crops can be very effective. 

Protecting the homestead and livestock is important too; losing vital shelter and assets can quickly lead to hunger. This can range from having evacuation procedures in place for areas prone to cyclones: to infrastructural measures such as retaining walls in flood prone areas or natural resource management such as reforestation in areas prone to extreme climate conditions.

» Learn more about disaster risk reduction .

7. Support refugees

Forced migration is a key cause of hunger, and we are currently in the middle of an unprecedented global refugee crisis . Refugees and IDPs are some of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to hunger. So are their host communities , whose resources are often very thinly spread.

Much of the work to stop conflict needs to take place on a government and policy level, but one way Concern can help is through programs that facilitate new ways to generate income. For example, Syrian refugee women and their Lebanese neighbours have learned how to make staples like cheese and yoghurt, and how to sell them at market for a profit. For those who wish to return home to Syria, this will also be an essential skill to have when the country eventually rebuilds its infrastructure.

8. Improve storage systems

When communities have a successful harvest, they need to have access to a safe storage system to ensure their food supply lasts. Some of the solutions we employ range from building or rehabilitating grain stores to innovations such as solar dryers. They work by accelerating the traditional practice of sun-drying which preserves micronutrients and prolongs shelf lives. Solar dryers are eco-friendly devices that also reduce contamination and minimise nutrient loss.

9. Reduce food waste

Currently, one-third of all food produced is wasted — that's over 1.3 billion tons. Producing this wasted food also wastes other natural resources. It requires an amount of water equal to the annual flow of Russia’s Volga River, and creates 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases. 

Ending food waste would be a radical shift, but it’s one that you can be a part of by simply reducing your own food waste. It’s especially important in countries like Ireland (which contribute more to climate change but feel the effects less than more vulnerable countries) to take these steps towards climate justice. You can also ask your representatives to commit to policies that reduce waste and better the whole food system.

» Learn more about what you can do to help solve world hunger .

How Concern is working to solve world hunger

Concern’s programmes incorporate all of the elements laid out above, as we seek to both treat and prevent hunger. We also engage with local and national governments to ensure these strategies are implemented at an institutional level. 

In terms of treating hunger, we support national governments in strengthening their health systems to provide quality treatment for acute malnutrition using the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) approach. We work on behaviour change towards improved Infant and Young Child Feeding practices (IYCF) often through women’s groups such as care groups or mother-to-mother support groups. Our treatment strategies also intertwine with our agriculture activities to ensure that households produce a more diverse range of fruits, vegetables and grains to meet the nutritional needs of women and children.

In terms of prevention,  our programmes seek to tackle the root causes of hunger, such as poverty and inequality, and to mitigate against the effects of crises such as conflict and climate change.

More on how to solve world hunger

What can I do to help world hunger? 10 simple ideas

RUTF and CMAM: The story of a humanitarian revolution

Can world hunger be solved? Six experts weigh in

Can world hunger actually be solved? What are the actual chances of eliminating it ? And what are the areas we need to focus on in order to move closer towards this goal? We gathered the thoughts of six notable people.

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The COVID-19 pandemic, worsening climate impacts, and reverberating economic shocks have shown just how deeply interconnected countries are, and how global crises hit the world’s most vulnerable communities the hardest.  

This is particularly true when it comes to the global hunger crisis, which has exploded in recent years. Globally, more than 828 million people go to bed hungry every night and the number of people facing acute food insecurity — meaning they get so little food they face severe health complications — has nearly tripled since 2019, soaring from 135 million people to 345 million people in 2022. 

The urgency of this crisis informs the theme of this year’s World Food Day: “ Leave NO ONE Behind .”  

“In the face of global crises, global solutions are needed more than ever,” the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said in a call to action . “By aiming for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, we can transform agrifood systems and build forward better by implementing sustainable and holistic solutions that consider development in the long term, inclusive economic growth, and greater resilience.”

The emphasis on leaving “no one” behind serves as a reminder that, year after year, billions of people are left behind by the global food system, which fails to prioritize the nutritional well-being of communities. Living up to this mandate means adequately investing in and supporting solutions that are available today. 

Here are seven ways we can ensure that no one is left behind this World’s Food Day. 

1. Fund Humanitarian Efforts to Prevent Famine 

The World Food Programme (WFP) and partner organizations are working to stop famine from engulfing 50 million people in 45 countries , with the harshest situations occurring in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen, where conflcits have devastated food systems.

Without adequate funding, WFP will struggle to reach its goals. In fact, WFP secured less than half of its operational budget of $22 billion for the year as of September.  

Humanitarian organizations like WFP, with their extensive on-the-ground networks, are often the only things that stand between families in famine zones and starvation. Governments, corporations, and philanthropists have the opportunity to ensure no one is left behind by mobilizing WFP’s remaining budget so it can provide millions of people with rations, cash grants, and support they need to get through the year.  

2. Invest in Smallholder Farmers

Smallholder farmers are the backbone of rural communities worldwide , providing abundant food, jobs, and community investment. Yet a tangle of global crises has driven up the costs of essential inputs like seeds, fertilizer, technologies, and even water, making it difficult for many farmers to stay in business, and forcing many to sell their land and property.  

When a lack of resources prevents smallholder farmers from achieving their potential harvests, then hunger rates spike in surrounding areas and the entire global food system feels the disruption. 

Leaving no one behind means that governments and other investing bodies have to subsidize agricultural production for smallholder farmers, whether by directly providing essential inputs, enabling access to grants and credit, or investing in broader system reforms that make farmers more resilient in the face of shocks.   

3. Invest in Climate-Smart Agriculture

Climate change is already undermining crop yields worldwide, and major crops like wheat and maize could decline by as much as a quarter compared to current levels by 2030 alone . 

At the same time, the global food system is a major driver of climate change, responsible for an estimated 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions .

If countries want to both maintain crop yields and reduce emissions, then they must invest in climate-smart forms of agriculture that support the regeneration of ecosystems, protect forests, and restore the health of soil. 

4. Promote a Planetary Health Diet

Transforming the food system requires both macro and micro change. On the micro level, people worldwide have to shift their diets to foods that support the health of the global environment and reduce foods that cause harm. 

The “ Planetary Health Diet ” was developed by scientists to figure out how we can eat our way out of the climate and biodiversity crisis. Their main finding was that people, particularly Americans, need to eat less meat because industrial meat production is a leading cause of deforestation, water depletion, and soil erosion. 

Shifting to other sources of protein like lentils and beans, in addition to increasing consumption of vegetables and fruits, would gradually allow environments to recover and become net absorbers of greenhouse gasses instead of net emitters. 

5. Eliminate Food Waste

An estimated 40% of food produced worldwide is wasted . In other words, we produce more than enough food to eliminate global hunger, yet pricing incentives and inefficient market practices render huge amounts of that food inaccessible to the communities that need it the most. 

Ending this injustice requires better distribution methods, universal access to refrigeration technology, and fairer pricing mechanisms so that people can actually afford food. Instead of leaving an estimated 1.4 billion tons of food to rot in landfills annually , countries can make sure food serves its intended purpose: nourishing people. 

6. Ensure Everyone Can Afford Nutritious Diets 

Nearly half of the global population is unable to afford a nutritious diet , which means they often have to settle for highly processed and nutrient-deficient foods. It’s not good enough to eliminate hunger; undernutrition has to be eliminated as well. 

Leading food researchers argue that this affordability gap can be closed by instituting higher wages for work, providing government safety nets to support food purchases, directly lowering the cost of healthy foods through subsidies, and investing in the production of healthy food. 

7. Ensure Universal School Meals 

Hungry students have a harder time paying attention, retaining information, and engaging in school, which ends up undermining their future productivity. Providing students with school meals is a simple way to help students do their best in the classroom and grow into healthy, capable adults. When structured right, school meal programs can also promote healthy eating, support local farmers, and free up family income for broader prosperity. In fact, for every $1 invested in school meals, communities see $9 in returns, according to WFP .  

Globally, more than 73 million students lack reliable access to school meals. Ending this disparity will go a long way toward “leaving no one behind.” 

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The focus of this year's Nelson Mandela International Day is to improve malnutrition. Image:  Unsplash/Matthew TenBruggencate

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Stay up to date:, agriculture, food and beverage.

• Nelson Mandela International Day is marked every 18 July.
• This year, the focus is on malnutrition.

In 2020, around a tenth of the world’s population was undernourished.

• The UN is looking at ways we can improve access to high-quality food.

With a United Nations goal of reaching zero hunger by 2030 , that means we are a long way off course.

Ensuring food security is one of the key targets of this year’s Nelson Mandela International Day – an event that takes place every 18 July to mark and advance the societal contributions of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation is running the Each One Feed One campaign, encouraging South Africans to donate to a food distribution network to help their fellow citizens.

How can we boost food security?

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened malnutrition, according to the 2021 edition of the UN report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, with economic disruption and broken supply chains exposing a clear weakness in global food systems .

The situation is exacerbating widespread malnutrition: 22% of children under five are stunted , which impacts not only their physical growth, but also cognitive development and future employment capabilities. According to the World Bank, countries lose an average of 7% of their per capita GDP because of childhood stunting.

The report recommends six pathways for improving global food security.

Have you read?

This is why food security matters now more than ever, ai strawberries and blockchain chicken: how digital agriculture could rescue global food security, want to cut malnutrition don’t forget these 3 things, 1. fostering peace-building alongside humanitarian aid.

Many of the world’s most malnourished people live in war zones. One example of this is Yemen, where acute malnutrition has reached record levels since the start of a civil war in 2014, affecting half of children under five .

The erection of small-scale water treatment plants and irrigation systems has restored clean water, uncontaminated vegetables, and livelihoods .

In conflict conditions, food systems are frequently disrupted, making it very difficult for people to access nutritious food. The UN believes that emergency food assistance and water safety programmes need to be aligned with long-term socio-economic development and conflict resolution efforts in order to have sustainable impact.

2. Scaling up climate resilience across food systems

From wildfires to locusts, climate change is already affecting food security . The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that this will worsen, with an increase in CO2 leading to crops with lower nutritional quality and heat stress creating greater food waste.

But food production also has an impact on the environment, with livestock in particular creating high levels of carbon emissions .

The UN report suggests that we need to move towards a “climate-positive future, in which people and nature can co-exist and thrive”. This could include better risk monitoring and resilience-building measures such as agricultural insurance for vulnerable households.

3. Strengthening the resilience of the most economically vulnerable

The world’s most vulnerable have been worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the social protection programmes implemented by governments were helpful, the report says, they should be in place in advance of any economic downturn, so that when such conditions arise, vulnerable populations are not left without a safety net and can still access nutritious food and a healthy diet.

The UN cites the success of a monthly food voucher programme in Ethiopia, with young families gaining regular access to fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs, and a bolstered cash transfer programme in Kyrgyzstan, which saw 74% of households increase their agricultural activity to provide fresh food at home – improving dietary diversity and nutritional outcomes.

Two billion people in the world currently suffer from malnutrition and according to some estimates, we need 60% more food to feed the global population by 2050. Yet the agricultural sector is ill-equipped to meet this demand: 700 million of its workers currently live in poverty, and it is already responsible for 70% of the world’s water consumption and 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

New technologies could help our food systems become more sustainable and efficient, but unfortunately the agricultural sector has fallen behind other sectors in terms of technology adoption.

Launched in 2018, the Forum’s Innovation with a Purpose Platform is a large-scale partnership that facilitates the adoption of new technologies and other innovations to transform the way we produce, distribute and consume our food.

With research, increasing investments in new agriculture technologies and the integration of local and regional initiatives aimed at enhancing food security, the platform is working with over 50 partner institutions and 1,000 leaders around the world to leverage emerging technologies to make our food systems more sustainable, inclusive and efficient.

Learn more about Innovation with a Purpose's impact and contact us to see how you can get involved.

4. Reinventing the supply chain to lower the cost of nutritious foods

The report calls for government policies and incentives to help diversify production towards nutritious foods like fruit, vegetables and legumes. It also recommends the fortification of staple foods with vitamins and minerals as a way to supply whole populations with critical nutrients like iodine and iron.

With rapid rates of urbanization, it’s also important to shorten supply chains enough that city residents can still access fresh and nutritious food; redirecting consumption patterns that have led to rising levels of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases.

One effective strategy in tackling this problem is the AGRUPAR programme in Quito, Ecuador , where more than 4,400 urban gardens have been created, with 43% of produce sold in local food markets. Because this produce is travelling shorter distances, the cost to consumers is lowered.

5. Tackling poverty and structural inequalities

Inequality contributes to hunger, food insecurity and poor nutrition, especially in rural areas, where poverty rates are three times higher than in urban settings.

Integrating smallholder farmers into food value chains is one way of resetting the balance. Through improved technology and certification, these farmers have gained a foothold in the marketplace, increased profits and boosted the resilience of their crops by using sustainable production methods.

In Indonesia, for instance, 150,000 cocoa farmers have joined a sustainable value chain since 2014. It gives them increased access to financing and productivity-enhancing technology, as well as introducing traceability systems, nutrition education and farmer organizations.

Over a five-year period, cocoa yields increased by 73%, while empowered smallholders saw their incomes increase by more than 200%.

6. Changing consumer behaviour to promote positive dietary habits

Poor nutrition doesn’t just impact health through starvation. It also leads to the kind of weight problems that trigger diabetes, poor heart health and musculoskeletal disorders.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global obesity nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016 , when more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight. By 2019, over 38 million children under the age of five were overweight or obese.

The WHO says that low- and middle-income countries are now facing a “double burden of malnutrition”, with undernutrition and obesity often co-existing even within households. Making healthy food choices is as important as access to food supply.

The UN urges restrictions on food marketing to children and cites the example of Chile, where such advertizing is highly regulated, and of the Republic of Korea, where “green food zones” prohibit the sale of foods with limited nutritional value within 200 metres of most schools.

Transforming global food systems is a tall order, but aid agencies are hoping that, as we reach the second half of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, there is motivation for change.

As the UN’s food security report says: “Future generations will only thrive as productive actors and leading forces in food systems if decisive action is taken to ensure that children are no longer deprived of their right to nutrition”.

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Opinion: We Can End Hunger, Here's How

The international community has embraced eliminating hunger by 2030. But with more than 600 million people still likely to suffer from hunger in 2030, we're far from reaching that goal. We're making progress against hunger, the head of the Food and Agriculture Organization writes, but not enough to end it.

Social Studies, Economics

Feeding a Family

a mother feeding her 10 children in Kenya

Photograph by Dominic Nahr

This article was originally published October 16, 2015, written by José Graziano Da Silva, UN Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization. The international community has embraced a new goal, the eradication of hunger by 2030. That makes us the zero-hunger generation with a shared commitment to make hunger history. As we commemorate the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s birth 70 years ago and celebrate World Food Day, we are reminded of FAO’s mission to ensure food security for all, everywhere. The zero-hunger goal requires us to accelerate our efforts to eliminate hunger and poverty. FAO monitors 129 countries and 72 of those have halved the number of people experiencing undernourishment between the years of 1991 and 2014 and have achieved the Millennium Development Goal. (Since the release of this op-ed, the UN Millemmium Development Goals, have been replaced by the UN Sustaianable Development Goals or SDGs. Eliminating hunger is the second goal, or  SDG 2 .) Progress, however, has been uneven: Some 800 million people continue to suffer hunger, and almost a billion live in extreme poverty. We need to break out of the cycles that trap people in poverty and hunger. In a business-as-usual scenario, more than 600 million people are still likely to be hungry in 2030. That’s a long way from zero. A Pro-Poor Posture Eradicating hunger requires commitment —political will. It will require sustained efforts in many areas, particularly pro-poor investments in rural areas, where the majority of the world’s most vulnerable live. Economic growth alone will not suffice; it needs to be socially inclusive to ensure sufficient access to food for all. Pro-poor public investments include infrastructure benefitting small family farms, ensuring sustainable agriculture, reducing post-harvest food losses, strengthening land and water rights, and making sure that the poor and marginalized —whose ranks include many women and youth—have fair access to credit, farm inputs including seed and fertilizers, and the extension services that provide training and advice to rural, small family farms. Road improvement projects in South Asia's Bangladesh, to cite an example, increased agricultural wages by 27 percent and greatly increased school enrollment for local children. Such investments can break the self-perpetuating cycle of rural poverty. Beyond Short-Term Tactics Along with more pro-poor investments , we need to promote wider and deeper use of social protection programs to lift people out of poverty permanently by ensuring people do not slip back into it. Social protection refers to programs to provide basic needs. Providing a social protection floor ensures basic needs for all. Social protection schemes can take many forms, including guaranteed employment in public works, cash or in-kind transfers to eligible beneficiaries, and school feeding programs. If well designed, they enable the poorest to undertake activities to earn more, rising above the poverty line. In 2013 alone, social protection measures took around 150 million people out of extreme poverty. The growing acceptance and proliferation of social protection in the developing world implies the recognition of their ability to immediately address poverty and hunger. Such schemes work and are affordable, especially compared to the cost and price of doing nothing. Social protection offsets income shortfalls so that vulnerable households can avoid livelihood and food security shocks (sudden, unexpected loss of food from climate change or a geopolitical crisis), which are particularly hard for rural households that are dependent on agriculture to recover from. But it can do much more: It can help millions of family farmers and rural laborers move beyond short-term survival tactics and enable them to invest more in productive activities as well as their children’s health and education. Time is money, and that is no less true for the poor. Today, we know that even relatively small monetary transfers to poor households, when regular and predictable, helps them pursue other income-generating activities. Far from creating dependency or reducing work effort, social protection strengthens livelihoods . Increasing the purchasing power of the poor also benefits the wider community by increasing business opportunities, triggering a virtuous local economic growth cycle, which is especially welcome in typically neglected rural areas. But social protection programs, on their own, will not be enough. We need to integrate them with pro-poor agricultural investment programs to derive more effective collaborations. Political commitment , partnerships, and adequate funding are key to realizing this vision. Policies and plans for rural development, poverty reduction, food security , and nutrition need to promote pro-poor investments and social protection to fight poverty and hunger, together with a broader set of interventions, notably in health and education. We know what to do. We have the tools. Now we’ve made the pledge. So we must be the zero-hunger generation.

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A global food crisis

Conflict, economic shocks, climate extremes and soaring fertilizer prices are combining to create a food crisis of unprecedented proportions. As many as 783 million people are facing chronic hunger. We have a choice: act now to save lives and invest in solutions that secure food security, stability and peace for all, or see people around the world facing rising hunger. 

2023: Another year of extreme jeopardy for those struggling to feed their families

The scale of the current global hunger and malnutrition crisis is enormous. WFP estimates – from 78 of the countries where it works (and where data is available) – that more than 333 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity in 2023, and do not know where their next meal is coming from.  This constitutes a staggering rise of almost 200 million people compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. 

At least 129,000 people are expected to experience famine in Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia and South Sudan. Furthermore, any fragile progress already made in reducing numbers risks being lost, due to funding gaps and resulting cuts in assistance.  The global community must not fail on its promise to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030.   

WFP is facing multiple challenges – the number of acutely hungry people continues to increase at a pace that funding is unlikely to match , while the  cost of delivering food assistance is at an all-time high  because food and fuel prices have increased.  

Unmet needs heighten the risk of hunger and malnutrition. Unless the necessary resources are made available,  lost lives and the reversal of hard-earned development gains  will be the price to pay. 

The causes of hunger and famine

But why is the world  hungrier than ever? 

This seismic hunger crisis has been caused by a deadly combination of factors. 

Conflict is still the biggest driver of hunger, with 70 percent of the world's hungry people living in areas afflicted by war  and violence. Events in Ukraine are further proof of how conflict feeds hunger – forcing people out of their homes, wiping out their sources of income and wrecking countries’ economies. 

The climate crisis is one of the leading causes of the steep rise in global hunger.  Climate shocks destroy lives, crops and livelihoods, and undermine people’s ability to feed themselves.  Hunger will spiral out of control if the world fails to take immediate climate action. 

Global fertilizer prices have climbed even faster than food prices, which remain at a ten-year high themselves. The effects of the war in Ukraine, including higher natural gas prices, have further disrupted global fertilizer production and exports – reducing supplies, raising prices and threatening to reduce harvests.  High fertilizer prices could turn the current food affordability crisis into a food availability crisis, with production of maize, rice, soybean and wheat all falling in 2022. 

On top of increased operational costs , WFP is facing a major drop in funding in 2023 compared to the previous year, reflecting the new and more challenging financial landscape that the entire humanitarian sector is navigating. As a result, assistance levels are well below those of 2022. Almost half of WFP country operations have already been forced to cut the size and scope of food, cash and nutrition assistance by up to 50 percent.

WFP Annual Review 2022

Publication | 23 June 2023

WFP and FAO sound the alarm as global food crisis tightens its grip on hunger hotspots

Story | 21 September 2022

WFP scales up support to most vulnerable in global food crisis

Publication | 14 July 2022

Hunger hotspots

From the Central American Dry Corridor and Haiti, through the Sahel, Central African Republic, South Sudan and then eastwards to the Horn of Africa, Syria, Yemen and all the way to Afghanistan,  conflict and climate shocks are driving millions of people to the brink of starvation. 

Last year, the world rallied extraordinary resources – a record-breaking US$14.1 billion for WFP alone – to tackle the unprecedented global food crisis. In countries like Somalia, which has been  teetering on the brink of famine,  the international community came together and managed to pull people back. But it is not sufficient to only keep people alive. We need to go further, and  this can only be achieved by addressing the underlying causes of hunger. 

The consequences of not investing in resilience activities will reverberate across borders. If communities are not empowered to withstand shocks and stresses, this could result in  increased migration and possible destabilization and conflict.  Recent history has shown us this: when WFP ran out of funds to feed Syrian refugees in 2015, they had no choice but to leave the camps and seek help elsewhere, causing one of the  greatest refugee crises in recent European history.  

Let's stop hunger now

WFP’s changing lives work helps to build human capital, support governments in strengthening social protection programmes, stabilize communities in particularly precarious places, and help them to better survive sudden shocks without losing all their assets. 

In just four years of the  Sahel Resilience Scale-up, WFP and local communities turned 158,000 hectares of barren fields in the Sahel region of five African countries into farm and grazing land.  Over 2.5 million people benefited from integrated activities.  Evidence shows that people are better equipped to withstand seasonal shocks and have improved access to vital natural resources like land they can work.  Families and their homes, belongings and fields are better protected against climate hazards.  Support serves as a buffer to instability by bringing people together, creating social safety nets, keeping lands productive and offering job opportunities – all of which help to break the cycle of hunger. 

As a further example, WFP’s flagship microinsurance programme – the R4 Rural Resilience initiative –  protects around 360,000 farming and pastoralist families from climate hazards that threaten crops and livelihoods  in 14 countries including Bangladesh, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. 

At the same time, WFP is working with governments in 83 countries to boost or build  national safety nets and nutrition-sensitive social protection, allowing us to reach more people than we can with emergency food assistance.  

Humanitarian assistance alone is not enough though. A  coordinated effort across governments, financial institutions, the private sector and partners is the only way to mitigate an even more severe crisis in 2023.  Good governance is a golden thread that holds society together, allowing human capital to grow, economies to develop and people to thrive.  

The world also needs deeper political engagement to reach zero hunger.  Only political will can end conflict in places like Yemen, Ethiopia and South Sudan, and without a firm political commitment to contain global warming as stipulated in the  Paris Agreement , the main drivers of hunger will continue unabated. 

In 2023, hunger levels are higher than ever before

Help families facing unprecedented hunger

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“… reducing the amount of food that we waste by just a third could feed all the food-insecure people in this country,” says Emily Broad Leib, director of the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School.

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How food donations can help fight hunger and climate change

Harvard Staff Writer

Law Professor Emily Broad Leib examines legal and other hurdles to reducing waste

Every year, nearly 700 million people suffer from hunger around the world, while 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown away. Both food waste and hunger have increased during the pandemic.

It doesn’t have to be that way, said Emily Broad Leib , director of the Food Law and Policy Clinic of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School. The Gazette interviewed Broad Leib about the ways in which food donation could help the fight against hunger as well as climate change.

Emily Broad Leib

GAZETTE: How did you get interested in the subject of food law?

BROAD LEIB: When I went to Harvard Law School, my focus was international human rights. After Law School, I did a fellowship in community development in rural Mississippi, and one of the first projects I worked on was legal training for local farmers and farmers markets. They wanted to grow foods, but they didn’t know what they were allowed to sell. Everything grew from there. There is a huge change around what people want the food system to do. For a lot of the 1900s into the early 2000s, the idea was just that food appears at the store; we buy it; and we bring it to our house. Now people are thinking a lot more about what’s in our food, how it is impacting us, what it is doing to the environment, where it is coming from, and who the workers are who produce this food. A lot of fields are implicated in this, but law has a lot to say in how we answer questions about our priorities, the transparency in the food system, and who are the winners and losers.

GAZETTE: How can food donation help the fight against hunger?

BROAD LEIB: Prior to COVID, there were about 690 million people globally living in hunger, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Estimates are that, because of COVID, that increased to between 720 to 811 million people, and rates of extreme hunger have also gone up. There are a lot of factors causing hunger. A big piece relates to economics and well-paying jobs, but hunger also is a day-to-day need, and long-term solutions, while they’re necessary, can’t resolve the day-to-day problem that people are facing. There is a movement to think about the right to food, which a lot of countries recognize, as one that includes the right to not have food go to waste. We put a lot of energy into producing that food, and the best thing that we can do is make sure that it goes to someone who is in need. In the U.S., there is data that shows that reducing the amount of food that we waste by just a third could feed all the food-insecure people in this country. There is nothing worse than thinking about people being in hunger while watching surplus food rot in the field or get thrown into a dumpster.

GAZETTE : What are the obstacles in the law that prevent food donation?

BROAD LEIB: There are two sides to it. On one side, there are actual legal and policy barriers to donating, and they can be real or perceived. As an example of a perceived barrier, in the U.S., we don’t mention food donation in any of our food safety laws. We’re strict about food safety; almost everything is regulated but so often food is wasted because it’s not clear what can you do with the food, whether it is allowed to be donated or not.

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In some countries, there are real barriers to donating food. In our research, we found that in some countries, there is a tax penalty for donating food instead of throwing it away. This happens in Argentina. In general, businesses that acquire food have to pay a value added tax [VAT] and can recover that money from the consumer. In Argentina, when you throw food away, you can claim a credit from the government for the VAT that you paid, but when you donate food, you can’t claim that same credit. There is a real economic penalty to donating versus throwing it away.

On the other side, there is a lack of incentive to donate food. In many countries, there is no tax benefit, or if there is, it’s very low. Also, it’s not necessarily cost-effective to donate food because you need to treat it carefully, have extra space in your freezers and trucks to transport it, and you need to train workers. Thinking about food coming from the farm, in the U.S., recent estimates say that we probably waste 13 million tons per year of food on the farm that doesn’t get harvested because either it’s not up to the aesthetic standards or the farmer met their goal for the contract and there’s extra that they just don’t need. There is a cost associated with harvesting and transporting that food, and if you can’t make the numbers work for businesses, it’s hard to say to them that we want them to spend all this money and time doing what’s good for society if that’s not actually going to make economic sense for them.

Part of our work has been to explore the different categories of barriers and the universal issues that people bring up when it comes to food donation. That has been our work in the Global Food Donation Policy Atlas , a project we conduct in partnership with the nonprofit Global FoodBanking Network that maps barriers and best practices to food donation around the world.

GAZETTE : What are the main findings of this atlas?

BROAD LEIB : In the first year, we picked a range of five countries (out of our initial list of 15) to look at the universal issues surrounding food donation. Now we’re looking at a broader set of countries to compare their policies and see who has the best practice or the best policy on various areas related to food donation. The atlas is trying to answer those questions and help users identify the very strongest model laws, while giving also specific useful tools to each individual country. For each participating country, we include a detailed legal guide of their current laws that food banks or food donors can use right now to find out what is allowed and what is not. There are recommendations for what are the top few changes, based on our conversations with our food bank partners, governments, and businesses, that really need to happen to make food donation more of a habit rather than being taboo or something that only happens occasionally.

GAZETTE: How do U.S. food donation policies compare to other countries in your atlas?

BROAD LEIB: When we first started the project, we thought the U.S. could strengthen its own policies, but when you look around the world, there are areas where we might be better off than other countries. It doesn’t mean that we have it right 100 percent. There are areas where we’re behind, such as date labeling on food products. We have all the resources and the capability of making those dates clear and comprehensible, and we’re just not doing it. The EU is blowing us out of the water; the U.K. has clear standard labels on food and guidance documents for consumers, businesses, and food banks about how foods can be eaten after the expiration date or can be donated. They’re light years ahead of us. But in terms of tax incentives for food donors, we have the most generous of any country. Food donors in the U.S. can get a very good incentive when they donate food, and that could be an example for other countries to follow. Over time, we’ll add more countries to the atlas, but even now you can get a good idea on where the hotspots are, where we’re doing well, and where we can make progress.

GAZETTE: How much of the food produced in the U.S. is donated?

BROAD LEIB: Studies estimate that between 7 and 10 percent of the U.S. surplus food gets donated. The rest of the surplus food goes to landfills; some to combustion, which is incinerated. There is so much edible food that is getting thrown away. It’s so disheartening. If you go behind any store and look in its dumpster, a large majority of what is in there could be in my refrigerator right now.

GAZETTE: How can food donation help the fight against climate change?

BROAD LEIB : The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] put out a report 18 months ago about food production and climate change, in which they found that about 8 to 10 percent of global anthropogenic emissions come from food waste. That is a sizable amount. There are lots of other places where we can reduce emissions, but it’s going to be tricky because those emissions meet other needs; we need electricity, energy. Reducing food waste seems to be one of those areas that is a win-win situation. No one is benefiting when we throw food away. The production of food itself causes emissions, and when the food goes to the landfill, it’s a huge emitter of methane. So that’s not good on either end of it.

GAZETTE: What is the impact of COVID on hunger and food waste?

BROAD LEIB: Hunger has increased because of COVID but so has food waste. In a lot of cases, it’s because certain supply chains got shut down. Food that typically goes to hotels or restaurants — and this also happened in the U.S. — suddenly had to be wasted because nobody knew where to send the food, and our supply chain wasn’t flexible enough to get all that food to grocery stores or food pantries. Feeding America, the network of food banks in the U.S., has seen an increase of need for food bank services, and that 75 percent of the people knocking on their doors were first-time users of food banks. Much of the food that goes to waste is totally fine and edible and it gets wasted because of log jams in the marketplace or confusion over date labels.

GAZETTE:  What would you like to see happening in the landscape of food donation policies?

BROAD LEIB:   We’ve already seen a lot more awareness about these topics and I think that will manifest in both being more thoughtful about food waste and food donation, but also around treating the land and workers in the food supply better. Every meal that we eat is magical when you think about how all these things came together, and they’re all only renewable resources if we treat them with respect, including the workers. My hope is that we’re moving toward a direction where there’s more respect for all the ingredients in the food system.

I’ve done a lot of research domestically around law school teaching and scholarship on food systems, and I’m doing a project now looking at teaching in law schools globally in this field. I think there is a real opportunity for learning and collaboration about these issues amongst lawyers. My hope is also that there are more active partnerships across countries on not just food donation, but on other food policy issues as well. At this point, more than 25 students from Harvard Law School have been involved in the atlas, and I wanted to acknowledge that. Part of my hope is that we’re training thoughtful leaders in this space who can evolve and build on this work in the future.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

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• food insecurity

The Time Has Come to End World Hunger

I n a nation as affluent as the United States, it's a harsh reality that more than 44 million people, including vulnerable children and seniors, grapple daily with food insecurity. Yet, this problem is not confined within any single nation's borders. Globally, conflicts, climate changes, and a worldwide pandemic have escalated the number of those in dire need of access to food from 80 million to an astonishing 350 million in the past seven years.  

If the chronically hungry formed their own nation today, it would be the third-largest in the world. This isn't just a metaphor; it’s a stark representation of the vastness of this crisis.

The glaring irony is that globally, we produce sufficient food, yet fail in equitable distribution. This massive global misalignment threatens more than just the immediate need for food around the world. It underlies geopolitical instability, exacerbates shortages, and triggers mass migrations.

We cannot achieve world peace and progress on a planet half fed and half hungry.

The tools and solutions we require to combat the challenge are available, including more sustainable, efficient ways to provide short-term hunger relief, and new production systems and delivery methods to provide nutritious food and clean water. Piecemeal action is already happening, but we can collectively do much better. We must do better.

My own personal encounter with hunger began in childhood, in a home where meals weren't always certain. A turning point came with an act of kindness — a stranger delivering a Thanksgiving meal. This gesture filled more than a physical void; it instilled a lifelong resolve to combat hunger.

My multi-decade journey combating hunger and its underlying contributors has been both eye-opening and disheartening. The generosity of everyday human beings is such a powerful force for good if directed. At the same time, during the past decade I have witnessed on multiple occasions cuts being made to essential hunger relief programs like the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), both before and after the pandemic . Both drive me to greater action and my search for the answer to the critical question: Why, in a world capable of producing ample food, are so many still battling hunger?

What I have concluded is that the solution lies beyond mere food provision; it's about transforming our global perspective and methods for sustainable nourishment. It involves rethinking strategies to supply food without burdening impoverished populations and our planet.

As John F. Kennedy once said, “The war against hunger is truly mankind's war of liberation.”

The financial aspect, though daunting, is manageable. Annually, $265 billion is required for sustainable hunger eradication, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization , a small fraction of the global GDP. It's a feasible investment for the welfare of millions and the stability of our global community.

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This battle against hunger demands a unified front, combining the efforts of NGOs, governments, and conscientious citizens. It's about harnessing our resources, innovations, and collective will to bridge the gap between surplus and need.

As we strategize and form alliances, the power of individual action remains crucial. One person's efforts can significantly impact this seemingly insurmountable issue, as history has repeatedly shown. Personally, I would have not even considered 40 years ago when I started giving food to just two families that I would now be able to successfully deliver 1 billion meals to families in the U.S.

Big-minded, innovative approaches are needed to tackle the diverse challenges of global hunger. This includes investing in agricultural technology to improve crop yields in underdeveloped regions, creating better food storage and transportation methods to reduce waste, and implementing policies that ensure fair distribution of resources needed to sustainably feed the world.

Furthermore, it's essential to address the root causes of hunger, which often lie in political instability, economic disparity, and social injustice. Solutions must be holistic, addressing these underlying issues to create lasting change.

Moreover, the impact of hunger extends beyond the immediate lack of food. It affects children’s ability to learn, workers’ productivity, and the overall health of communities. Addressing hunger is not just about providing meals; it's about laying the foundation for a healthier, more productive society. Making the investment now will more than pay for itself long-term.

As we stand at this crossroads, the challenge is not only to feed the hungry but to do so in a way that respects our planet and its resources. Sustainable practices in agriculture and food distribution are vital for the well-being of future generations.

I believe in our collective ability to address and eventually solve this crisis. This conviction stems from personal experiences and the numerous stories of resilience and generosity I've encountered. It's a testament to the power of human compassion and ingenuity.

Together, we can change the course of global hunger and ensure that no individual, regardless of their location, faces the uncertainty of their next nutritious meal.

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World Hunger: A Solvable Problem

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With one in seven of the earth’s inhabitants going hungry, hunger is the key global challenge of our time.  World Hunger: a Solvable Problem  highlights the UN’s collaborative fight against hunger.  Specifically, it showcases how the strong partnership between the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia allows WFP to intervene swiftly and to make a difference in the lives of millions of people affected by hunger worldwide.

The exhibition was organized and endorsed by The World Food Programme ( WFP ) and the Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations.

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Can world hunger be solved?

Six experts weigh in

Sep 12, 2023

In 2021, a troubling fact about world hunger was revealed: As many as 828 million people were undernourished, undoing more than a decade's worth of progress against hunger.

One of the most ambitious of the Sustainable Development Goals is to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. But can world hunger actually be solved? What are the actual chances of eliminating it given the size and scope of the causes of hunger? And what are the areas we need to focus on in order to move closer towards this goal?

We gathered the thoughts of six notable people from various sectors who have informed opinions on the subject. This includes an economist, a historian, a former vice president, and a humanitarian working with an organization that you may already be familiar with.

Here's what they said:

The Historian: Gabriela Soto Laveaga

Gabriela Soto Laveaga is a professor of the history of science at Harvard University. She is currently working on a book about agricultural research and water in Sonora, Mexico and Punjab, India.

Hunger has often been framed as an achievable numbers game of producing more food to feed more people... Yet history shows that science alone, even with generous funding, cannot solve an issue that is social, political and economic, such as hunger.

Hunger [is] not a yields game alone, but also a matter of equitable distribution of locally grown food.

It is critical to look at hunger as more than a technical problem to be addressed through scientific advancement alone.

The Politician: Joseph Nyumah Boakai

From 2006 to 2018, Joseph Nyumah Boakai served as the Vice President of Liberia under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He was also Liberia's Minister of Agriculture between 1983 and 1985. Liberia consistently ranks among the world's hungriest countries on the annual Global Hunger Index .

We know that our world can feed all of its people now and in the future, and end hunger if we do the right things now. Therefore, we must identify and accept those fundamental changes that must be made in mainstreaming our thinking on the problems. This will include making a clear distinction between our goal for ending hunger and malnutrition and placing the food security of our individual countries and that of our world on a sustainable path. We must create conducive conditions for smallholder farmers to contribute to raising food availability by 70% by 2050 - which is what will be required to feed a growing and more urbanised population.

We must take bold, appropriate and timely actions that will include measures to enhance production. And we must ensure that smallholders are both protected from the threats of climate change, and promoted as custodians of natural resources so that they share the responsibility for protecting the planet.

Learn more about the fight to end world hunger

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The Activist: Alex de Waal

Alex de Waal is the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and contributed an essay on conflict and hunger to the 2015 Global Hunger Index.

We need political leadership to strengthen international food security policy. This depends on political decisions in western capitals - and these are not always easy to make.

While the United Nations and powerful governments can predict and stop major food crises, ultimately the decision is always political. Faced with an imminent famine in Somalia in 2011, the US government waited until famine was well advanced to authorise assistance. Behind the scenes, US counterterrorism legislation made it impossible for UN agencies and nongovernmental organisations to operate in insurgent-controlled areas. To do so would be to risk being accused of supporting a terrorist organisation. Only when the United Nations moved to declare famine in Somalia was the United States ready to respond and allow others to do so without automatically running afoul of its prohibition on supporting terrorism.

The lesson is clear: Political commitment at the highest levels to prevent famine, no matter what the political context, is needed. Countries in need should be aided, regardless of their standing with any other government.

The Economist: Caroline Krafft

Caroline Krafft is an associate professor at St. Catherine University's Department of Economics and Political Science in St. Paul, Minnesota. She authored the chapter "Can We End Hunger?" for the textbook Economics for the Greater Good.

There is reason to hope that we can end hunger. The world already produces enough food to feed everyone. This production is, however, unequally distributed across countries and across households and individuals within countries. Differences in technology, physical and human capital and labour across countries are a key driver of international inequality. These differences arise for a variety of complex forces, ranging from the impact of colonialism to differences in physical climate.

The Nutritionist: Jane Napais Lankisa

Jane Napais Lankisa is a trained nutritionist and Masai activist from Kenya who advocates for the nutrition of adolescent girls as a key element of achieving both Zero Hunger and gender equality .

The priority group for nutrition include children under five, adolescents, women of reproductive age, and the elderly.

In most developing countries, nutrition initiatives have been focusing on children and women, thus neglecting adolescents. Adolescence is the second window of opportunity to end the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.

This stage is characterised by rapid physical, cognitive and psychosocial growth. There are 1.3 billion adolescents in the world today, more than ever before, making up 16% of the world's population. Nevertheless, this age group is classified as most vulnerable to malnutrition according to the WHO.

It is my plea that nutrition interventions such as adolescents' access to sexual reproductive health services, micronutrient supplementation, nutrition intervention for pregnant adolescents, and interventions to improve vaccine uptake among adolescents are given top priority. Adolescents are the missing link in the fight against malnutrition, and most programmes being rolled out are either for children or adults, and no special attention is paid to this age group.

The Humanitarian: Dominic MacSorley

Dominic MacSorley has spent four decades working with Concern in a variety of contexts, including as Concern Worldwide's CEO from 2013 until 2022.

The story of reducing hunger has not been linear, and is certainly far from triumphant. In 2016, for the first time since 2000, global hunger started to rise and has been rising ever since, driven by conflict, climate-related disasters, and now COVID-19.

Against this cataclysmic backdrop, many donor nations are turning increasingly inward. Earlier this year, a fundraising conference organised by the UN to avert famine in Yemen fell drastically short of its targets as donor nations shied away from helping those facing catastrophe. Despite all that humanitarian assistance is achieving, and its extraordinary impact, it is falling short. The combination of new and unprecedented levels of need and the inadequate levels of humanitarian funding has put us on course for great tragic and avoidable loss of life. This is inexcusable. No one should die because of a lack of money or will.

The knowledge, resources and capacity exists to end global hunger by 2030, the goal set by the United Nations. However, that will not come close to happening without renewed urgency and resolve.

All quotes have been either obtained directly or are taken from recent speeches and writings. Click on each figure's name in their bio to read more.

Can we end hunger? Your concern in action

9 World hunger solutions to get us to 2030

Climate Smart Agriculture: Back to the basics to fight climate change and hunger

RUTF and CMAM: The Story of a Humanitarian Revolution

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80 World Hunger Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best world hunger topic ideas & essay examples, 🎓 simple & easy world hunger essay titles, 🔎 good research topics about world hunger, ❓ questions about world hunger.

• World Hunger Essay: Causes of World Hunger & How to Solve It It is important to note that though the problem of hunger is virtually everywhere in the world, most of the hunger stricken people are found in the developing countries.
• World Hunger: Cause and Effect In this way, the poor nations have to export most of their food to pay these debts. In other cases, most industries that used to offer assistance to these poor nations also center on exports […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Effects of World Hunger Activities of the United States indicate a tendency to increase world hunger; it seems to give the perception that it is fond to bask in the glory of the world’s dependency on foreign aid, so […]
• World Hunger: Causes and Solutions For example, Peter Singer and Garrett Hardin depict the importance of famine and suggest diverse solutions for the cease of the problem in their publications and scientific research.
• What Causes World Hunger? It is, therefore, true enough to state that corrupt and oppressive political systems around the world have contributed a great deal towards the escalation of world hunger.
• Population Growth and World Hunger Links I recommends teachers who teach mathematics to liberal arts to try these teaching strategies and test how the performances of their students will greatly improve.
• Genetically Engineered Food Against World Hunger I support the production of GMFs in large quality; I hold the opinion that they can offer a lasting solution to food problems facing the world.
• Peter Singer in the Solution to World Hunger This paper analyses the topic on world hunger, why the topic is important in the study of ethics, and Peter Singer’s position on what we ought to do to alleviate world hunger.
• World Hunger and Millennium Development Goals The chart below shows the statistics of hunger in the world: The majority of poverty stricken people who happens to be suffering from hunger live in Africa, the Pacific, Caribbean, and Asia.
• Is Genetically Engineered Food the Solution to the World’s Hunger Problems? However, the acceptance of GMO’s as the solution to the world’s food problem is not unanimously and there is still a multitude of opposition and suspicion of their use.
• Genetically Modified Food as a Solution to Ending World Hunger
• World Hunger and Environment: Pressures on Land, Water, and Energy Resources
• Poverty Is the Principal Cause of Global Hunger
• Focus On 24 Vulnerable Countries to Help End World Hunger
• World Hunger Problem: Biological Stress Factors
• Utilitarianism Theory: The Moral Obligation to Help End World Hunger
• The Connection Between Overpopulation and World Hunger: Factors Which Contribute to Hunger
• The focus of the 2021 Ghi: World Hunger and Food Systems in Conflict Settings
• World Hunger and Global Environment in Haiti
• World Hunger’s Problem Needs Resilience to Build Food and Nutrition Security
• Role of Company Zambrero and Mexican Cuisine in Fighting Against World Hunger
• Australian Foreign Aid Projects to Reduce World Hunger and Poverty
• The Clean Meat Movement as the Solution to World Hunger
• Global and Regional Trends in World Hunger
• Development and Strategies for Reducing World Hunger
• The Impact of Animal Agriculture on World Hunger
• World Hunger’s Solutions: Reduced Usage of Land And Teaching Farmers About Effective Land Use
• Myths About World Hunger: Just a Problem of Not Having Enough Food
• World Hunger Effects on Developing Countries: Underweight, Growth Stunted, and Micronutrient Deficiencies
• World Hunger in Africa: Facts, FAQs, and How to Help
• The Challenge of World Hunger and Climate Change
• Forced Migration and World Hunger: Two Closely Intertwined Problems
• Why Rising and Volatile Food Prices Bring World Hunger
• World Hunger: Measures of Child Undernutrition
• World Hunger and the UK Example: Food Prices Being High
• How Politics Subsidize World Hunger
• Can Biotech Food Cure World Hunger
• Freerice by WFP: Free Trivia Game That Helps End World Hunger
• Linking Health and Sustainable Food Systems With World Hunger
• The World Hunger and Food Shortages: Conflicts, Wars, Environmental Shocks Such as Flooding or Drought
• World Hunger: Discussion of Cannibalism as a Possible Solution
• The Inequalities of World Hunger: The UN And Their Aim “Leaving No One Behind”
• World Hunger Relief Organizations
• A Decrease in World Hunger With an Increase in Food Production
• Ending World Hunger in Our Time by Food Sovereignty
• No Food, No Morals: The Effects of World Hunger
• Peter Singer in the Solution to World Hunger
• How the Creation of Leaders Brings Inequalities in Rank, Power, Wealth, and Eventually the Creation of World Hunger
• Why the War in Ukraine Has Exacerbated Global Food Insecurity
• Solving World Hunger Through Microenterprises, Policy, and Community Health Workers
• How Does Poverty Cause World Hunger?
• What Are the Main Consequences of World Hunger?
• How Can Micro-Enterprises, Politics and Community Health Workers Solve the Problem of World Hunger?
• What Is the Biggest Problem in the Fight Against Hunger in the World?
• Is World Hunger Caused by Food Waste?
• What Are the Causes and Effects of Hunger in the World?
• How Does Animal Agriculture Contribute to World Hunger?
• What Is the Social Problem of World Hunger?
• How Can the Government Overcome World Hunger?
• Why Is World Hunger a Political Issue?
• Is Hunger Caused by Food Shortages Around the World?
• How Is World Hunger Affecting Haiti?
• What Are the Things That Can Help End World Hunger?
• How Can Genetic Engineering Help Fight World Hunger?
• Is World Hunger a Human Rights Issue?
• What Is the Biggest Contributor to World Hunger?
• How Does Political Instability Cause World Hunger?
• Is World Hunger a Problem of Distribution?
• What Measures Must Be Taken Today to Prevent Future World Hunger?
• Is There a Connection Between Diabetes and World Hunger?
• How Can Gmos End World Hunger?
• Are Overpopulation and World Hunger Related?
• How Is World Hunger Related to Human Rights?
• Does Utilitarianism Theory Claim That It Is Our Moral Duty to Help End World Hunger?
• What Is the Most Effective Way to End World Hunger?
• How Are World Hunger and Poverty in Developing Countries Related?
• Could Food Sovereignty Put an End to World Hunger in Our Time?
• Is Genetically Modified Food the Answer to World Hunger?
• How Does World Hunger Affect the Economy?
• Does the Meat Industry Contribute to World Hunger?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Hunger — Global Problems: How to End World Hunger

Global Problems: How to End World Hunger

• Categories: Hunger

About this sample

Words: 556 |

Published: Nov 5, 2020

Words: 556 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Works Cited

• World Health Organization. (2021). Hunger and health: A briefing note by the World Health Organization. Retrieved from [URL]
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2021). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World. Rome: FAO.
• Action Against Hunger. (n.d.). Our Impact. Retrieved from [URL]
• United Nations Children's Fund. (2021). The State of the World's Children 2021: Children, Food and Nutrition - Growing well in a changing world. UNICEF.
• We Can End Hunger. (n.d.). World Hunger Statistics. Retrieved from [URL]
• World Food Programme. (2021). Fighting Hunger Worldwide. Retrieved from [URL]
• The Hunger Project. (n.d.). Ending World Hunger. Retrieved from [URL]
• Oxford Research Group. (2018). Food Security: The Impact of Conflict and Instability. Retrieved from [URL]
• United Nations Development Programme. (2021). Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. Retrieved from [URL]
• Balmaseda, M. T., & Heaton, L. (2019). Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in an Era of Oil Scarcity: Lessons from Cuba. Routledge.

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World Hunger Essay: Outline, Topics, & Samples

World hunger is a global problem that affects roughly 10% of the world’s population. It is hard to imagine that so many people are deprived of basic human needs. That is why the topic is so sensitive and needs attention.

Numerous organizations try to provide financial aid, volunteer and improve the agricultural sector. However, wars, extreme weather conditions , and rising food prices still cause adults and children malnutrition.

This article will help you to create a world hunger essay outline, find a suitable topic, and decide what to write in your paper.

• 📝 Writing Tips
• 🌽 Problems and Solutions Essay
• 🔓 How to Solve World Hunger Essay Sample
• 🥗 80 World Hunger Essay Topics

📝 World Hunger Essay Writing Tips

In this passage, we will share some advice on writing an essay about world hunger. You can use them both for long and short papers and even for drafting your speech on the issue.

What to Write in an Essay about World Hunger?

Check these four acute themes that you can discuss in your work.

• Poverty is the main reason for world hunger. That is why Asian and African countries suffer the most. Explain how poverty creates a cycle that causes low incomes for future generations and, as a result, hunger.
• The issue is on the rise. The number of people who suffer from hunger grows each year. The COVID-19 pandemic made things even worse. The percentage of malnourished people rose from 8.4% in 2019 to 9.9% in 2020. Write about the tendencies and the depth of the issue.
• How to end world hunger? Research the organizations that fight world hunger. Describe your vision of the possible solutions. Also, try to mention how an average human can contribute to them.
• People who no longer suffer from hunger still cannot afford a healthy diet. Cheap food often includes industrial trans-fats and a high proportion of salt and sugar. Define the problems that developing counties face on the way from hunger to proper nutrition.

How to Write an Essay on World Hunger?

• Plan your work. It would help if you left enough time to research, write, and edit.
• Select credible sources. Better use academic publications that your library provides. Make sure that they are not outdated.
• Check if your ideas are unique. Search for other papers that study a similar topic .
• Follow the structure. You need an introduction with a thesis statement, at least three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Pay attention to the type of essay you have to write (argumentative, persuasive, problem and solution, etc.). The structure might be different depending on it.
• Provide explanations. If your audience might not understand some terms, make a glossary at the beginning of your essay.
• Introduce your vision. After you provide a deep analysis of your sources, add your thoughts on the issue. State your opinion, provide criticism, or suggest ways for further research.
• Proofread and get a second opinion. Check if your grammar and spelling are in order. Make sure that you follow the requirements of your instructor. Let somebody review your essay .
• Remember that the topic is sensitive. Avoid conflicts of interest and breaking ethical principles. Pay attention to the tone of writing.

Helpful Links for a World Hunger Essay

And here is our selection of resources for a world hunger essay. They will help you develop knowledge about world hunger and decide on your area of research.

Check the links below:

🔗 Global Hunger Index – Our World in Data

🔗 Hunger and Undernourishment – Our World in Data

🔗 THE STATE OF FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION IN THE WORLD 2021

🔗 UN report: Pandemic year marked by spike in world hunger

🔗 Global hunger is rising, warns major UN report | World Economic Forum

🔗 2020 – Hunger Map | World Food Programme

🔗 USDA ERS – Key Statistics & Graphics

🔗 Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) | The Wordlbank

🌽 World Hunger Problems and Solutions Essay

Below, we will show how to create a world hunger essay outline. Here are descriptions of the structure and essay samples.

World Hunger Essay Outline #1

• Introduction. Provide an overview of the further paragraphs and some background information. Describe the questions that you will answer. For example, what are the current problems in the issue of world hunger ? The last sentence of the introduction is your thesis statement. You need to introduce the issues and the solutions in it briefly.
• Body. Define three problems and provide a solution to each one. Support your suggestions with scientific data that you gathered while researching. The first sentence of each paragraph should hint at what the whole passage is about.
• Conclusion. Synthesize the information that you discussed in your paper. Restate your thesis. You can also define the excising gaps in the knowledge and the need for further research.

World Hunger Problems and Solutions Essay Sample

World hunger is a rising issue in most of the countries with low average incomes. Only in Asia, there are 513.9 million people who suffer from malnutrition. Several problems contribute to the issue, such as population growth , lack of education, and underdeveloped agricultural sector. The possible solutions include birth rate control, improvement of school education, and applying genetic engineering to the agricultural industry. Population growth in Africa and Asia is a factor that contributes to poverty. It is the leading cause of hunger in these regions. Almost two-thirds of poor children live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia . That is the reason why birth control can help families reduce their financial burden. The measures include educating teenagers and young adults on contraception. This should be accompanied by providing accessible contraception methods. Lack of education means that children who do not receive enough knowledge cannot apply for high-paid jobs. Children from remote rural areas are two times less likely to attend even primary schools. Implementing free schools is the first step to raising the economies of developing countries. The children who graduate from high school have more perspectives than children with no education at all. It means that each country should provide free gender-equitable access to school education for all children regardless of their economic background. GM products that can survive high temperatures and are resistant to pesticides and diseases can improve food security in developing countries. Many Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia regions are prone to high temperatures, droughts, and floods. That is why investing in biotechnologies is vital for the countries that suffer from hunger. Raising research costs will enable scientists to look for the best solutions and cultivate crops that will survive extreme weather conditions. As a result, farmers will not risk their investments and will guarantee food supply for citizens of their country. While fighting world hunger, it is vital to focus on birth control , providing accessible education for children, and investing in genetic engineering research. Having fewer children will make it easier for families to cover the nutritional costs and ensure their literacy. GM products are more likely to survive hot weather and floods, which will create a secure food provision system for developing countries. All the research outcomes require checking and testing as we also need to make sure that all the used products will not bear harmful effects on human health.

🔓 How to Solve World Hunger Essay

In this part, we will take a look at another type of essay on world hunger. It will feature one problem and multiple solutions to it.

World Hunger Essay Outline #2

• Introduction. State the problem that you will discuss and explain its importance. Define the terms that might be unfamiliar to your readers. In the thesis statement, mention one solution to the problem. This solution will be the foundation of your essay.
• Body. Offer three arguments for your solution. Provide reliable evidence relevant to your vision. Analyze the sources that you use.
• Conclusion. Synthesize the information mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Explain why your solution is the best way to deal with the problem. Paraphrase your thesis statement. Suggest possible ways of further researching your topic.

How to Solve World Hunger Essay Sample

Ending world hunger by the end of 2030 is one of the primary goals of the United Nations. 8,9% of the world population suffers from malnutrition, which is roughly 690 million people. If the trend continues, there will be 60 million more in the next five years. There are several solutions to the issue, including improving job opportunities for women, financial aid for farmers and other entrepreneurs, and educating people on proper nutrition. Empowering women means they will be able to provide for their families. As a result, each family will have additional income that will help to cover nutrition costs. For example, USAID’s food voucher program provides equal job opportunities to men and women. 18 000 households that participate in the program can afford healthy foods and training on hygiene and nutrition. Food provision and financial aid are not enough; people still need to know how to use the opportunities they receive. We need to educate people on proper nutrition, health, and hygiene . Washing hands, having clean toilet facilities, and having access to water are fundamental for all the farms and other workplaces. Growing and preparing food in the right conditions can reduce food waste and the risk of getting diseases . As sick workers can’t provide for their families, it is vital to ensure their education. Fighting world hunger means adopting a multilateral approach to the issue. Gender equality and financial support can ensure job opportunities in developing countries. Employers should guarantee safe and hygienic working conditions for their workers. At the same time, all the people need to receive proper knowledge on maintaining their health.

🥗 World Hunger Essay Topics

If the topics above were not catchy for you, check this compilation of 80 excellent world hunger essay titles:

• The connection between unemployment rates and world hunger.
• Is genetic engineering the answer to ending global hunger ?
• What causes malnutrition in developing Asian countries ?
• Women empowerment can help to fight world hunger .
• How to create the agricultural sector in countries suffering from hunger?
• Effects of climate change on agriculture and food .
• Can volunteer programs help to reduce world hunger?
• Neglecting poverty, development and hunger in international relations .
• In what ways does corruption affect world hunger in developing countries?
• Animal exploitation: Animal agriculture and climate change .
• The effects of hunger on pregnancy and giving birth.
• History of sustainable global food economy .
• Obesity and malnutrition. The comparison of food problems in the US and developing countries.
• Using advanced biotechnologies in agriculture as a way to reduce world hunger.
• Genetically modified foods: Key aspects .
• How to encourage African farmers to produce more food.
• The issue of global poverty .
• The best volunteering programs that fight world hunger.
• Water-energy-food nexus in the Himalayan region .
• The overview of hunger issues in Bangladesh.
• Social issues: The exploitation of global poverty .
• How did the 2008 economic crisis affect world hunger?
• Improving education can lead to world hunger reduction .
• Is there a connection between overpopulation and hunger in Asia?
• Malnutrition in dementia: Critiquing an issue in aged care .
• Can African countries end hunger without international help?
• Social development and poverty reduction .
• Hunger in the Philippines: The primary outcomes.
• The effects of hunger on the human mind and intelligence.
• Resolving the problems of poverty and income inequality .
• Action plan to end hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Dangers of using genetically modified food .
• The countries that are successful in fighting hunger.
• Genetically modified food is the solution to world hunger .
• Comparison between world hunger rates fifty years ago and now.
• What can any person do to reduce world hunger?
• Child poverty and hunger in Canada: Problem analysis .
• The effects of world hunger on the global economy.
• What are the main causes of famine? History perspective.
• Vicious circle of poverty in Brazil .
• Hunger in the United States: Myth or truth?
• Prevention and treatment of malnutrition in older adults .
• Civil wars as a cause of hunger in African countries.
• How racial segregation contributes to concentrated poverty in minority communities .
• How does gender inequality affect world hunger?
• Hunger in India: Nutrition goals and current accomplishments.
• Causes of poverty as the state of possessing fewer resources .
• Why is there such a big gap between the rich and the poor ?
• Genetically modified food: Critics and controversies .
• What are the effects of long-term malnutrition on the human body?
• Causes of poverty in Africa: Research designs .
• Does climate change affect hunger in African countries?
• The measures Asian countries currently take to reduce hunger.
• The issue of the child poverty and hunger .
• The causes and effects of hunger in Afghanistan .
• Hunger during wars: Should we support conflicting countries?
• Poverty and sex trafficking: Qualitative systematic review .
• The causes and effects of hunger in Nepal.
• How to educate children on proper nutrition at school.
• Why do women starve themselves even if they have access to food?
• Who is responsible for world hunger?
• Can foreign aid solve worldwide poverty ?
• Is it real to end world hunger by 2030 ?
• The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on world hunger.
• Poverty and food security .
• How the development of infrastructure helps to reduce world hunger.
• What are the causes of hunger in economically developed countries ?
• Nursing, poverty and healthcare .
• Boko Haram’s terror and hunger in Nigeria .
• Kenya: The influence of global warming .
• The connection between diseases and hunger in developing countries.
• Homelessness and poverty in the United States .
• How do Asian countries fight world hunger?
• Climate change and its impact on freshwater .
• Urban and rural malnutrition differences in Africa.
• Fresh food for low income families and individuals .
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• The water-energy-food nexus and problem mitigation .
• How do natural disasters affect fighting hunger in Pakistan?

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Gazans Describe Search for Food and Wonder If It Will Get Worse

The charity food group World Central Kitchen suspended its relief efforts after seven of its workers were killed in Israeli airstrikes.

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By Raja Abdulrahim

• April 5, 2024

On most mornings before the war, Suhail Al-Asaad , a body builder, could be found at his kitchen counter in Gaza City, eating an omelet of eight egg whites before speed-walking along the waterfront and heading to the gym to lift weights.

That waterfront now lies in ruins. Mr. Al-Asaad and his family, like so many others, were displaced from their home by Israel’s intense bombardment and invasion and now sleep in a tent in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. He spends his days struggling to find food for himself, his wife, their three children and his sick mother.

Breakfast, of any kind, is elusive. Eggs are a luxury.

As famine looms over Gaza’s 2.2 million people, their tenuous survival has become a little harder for many this week. World Central Kitchen, the charity group founded by the chef José Andrés, suspended its relief efforts there after seven of its workers were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Monday. Since the start of the war in Gaza in October, the aid group said, it had delivered more than 43 million meals there.

Mr. Al-Asaad knows many people relied on meals from World Central Kitchen, which often consisted of rice and beans and sometimes meat or chicken. His family rarely got the meals “because the demand was more than the supply,” Mr. Al-Asaad said in an interview on Friday. Those who received them regularly, he added, would struggle to find a replacement.

Under pressure from President Biden, Israel has agreed to open more routes for aid convoys, but it remains unclear when that might happen. Aid agencies and multiple nations say they are working on supplying more food through the two southern border crossings that have been in use, but some Gazans doubt it will be enough to meet the enormous need, with many families now getting little or nothing.

“I can’t describe our situation. We are clinging to life, and that’s it,” said Mohammad al-Masri, a 31-year-old accountant who is also sheltering with his family in a tent in Rafah.

“The aid doesn’t always get to those who are displaced, except for very little,” he said on Friday via WhatsApp. “Mostly it all gets sold in the market,” he added, echoing what many Gazans have said for months.

His family is able to buy some canned meats and vegetables, and get rice and beans from another charity kitchen, he said.

Profiteering and an active black market have made things worse. In mid-March, Mr. Al-Asaad posted a short video on his Instagram page of two eggs — all he could afford — that he had just bought at the local market for 10 Israeli shekels, about 10 times what they used to cost. His family — six people — planned to cook the eggs for that night’s iftar meal, to break the daylong Ramadan fast.

“Eggs cost more than gold,” Mr. Al-Asaad, 45, wrote in the caption.

Like a growing number of Gazans, he has resorted to making a GoFundMe page asking for donations to buy food and clean water.

“‏We have now entered the sixth month without money, food or even aid, all of which are available on the black market at high prices,” he wrote on his GoFundMe page.

The World Food Program, an arm of the United Nations, says that famine is imminent in northern Gaza. The number of people in the entire besieged enclave facing catastrophic levels of hunger is now at 1.1 million, according to the group.

The World Health Organization, also a U.N. agency, reported this week that at least 27 children had died from malnutrition in Gaza.

Friday was the last Friday, a holy day for Muslims, in Ramadan. It would normally be a day of increased religious observance and preparation for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr festivities marking the end of Ramadan. But Mr. al-Masri said there was none of that feeling in the tent encampment he was living in with hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians.

“Most people fast because there is nothing to eat anyway,” he said. “We didn’t feel like this was Ramadan. There was no sense of Ramadan this year.”

Raja Abdulrahim is a Middle East correspondent based in Jerusalem covering the Levant. More about Raja Abdulrahim

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

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Turmoil at J Street: The war in Gaza has raised serious concerns within the Jewish political advocacy group about its ability to hold a middle position  without being pulled apart by forces on the right and the left.

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Germany’s Upended Arts Scene: Berlin, the home of boundary-pushing artists from around the world, has been turned upside down by debates about what can and can’t be said about Israel and the war in Gaza .

Internal Roil at TikTok: TikTok has been dogged by accusations that its app has shown a disproportionate amount of pro-Palestinian and antisemitic content to users. Some of the same tensions  have also played out inside the company.