Hunger hotspots are growing around the world. Learn more about the impacts and causes of hunger hotspots, and explore a wide-range of responses working to end hunger in these regions.
Hunger is on the rise.
According to a new United Nations report, local communities in 18 “hunger hotspots” around the world are facing increasingly dire and severe situations when it comes to accessing food.
These hotspots include places like Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, and Haiti.
Hunger hotspots are geographic regions suffering from severely limited access to food and widespread malnutrition, or the lack of necessary vitamins and minerals to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
It’s important to note that “hunger hotspot” is not just an empty academic term.
Hunger hotspots are everyday realities for millions of people skipping meals to feed their children after working from dawn to dusk.
They are areas where large portions of the population are forgoing medications to buy groceries and families, or selling their last goats and cows to make it through the week.
Hunger hotspots are real places with real people struggling to get by, let alone plan for a better tomorrow.
The UN is calling for urgent action in the following hunger hotspots, where starvation and the prospect of famine is a major threat: Haiti, Mali, Gaza, Sudan and South Sudan.
It’s important to first know that there are different levels of hunger, and different ways people experience it along a spectrum.
As of October 2023, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) estimates that 828 million—or one in 10 people—do not consume enough calories to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.
282 million people experienced acute hunger in 2023, which is one step below famine, and more than double the number of people who were acutely food insecure before the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 30 million people are on the brink of famine in designated hunger hotspots.
Approximately 83,00 people in three countries—South Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Mali—are currently experiencing famine conditions.
Conflict, economic instability, and extreme weather conditions caused by the climate crisis, disasters, political conflict, and the absence of strong local farming presences are the main drivers of hunger hotspots.
Conflict is often cited as the primary cause of hunger. According to the United Nations, we have entered a new era of conflict and violence. War deaths are declining, but conflict is increasing as more non-state actors like political militia, criminals, and international terrorist groups are on the rise.
The link between conflict, resource scarcity, and hunger is on full display in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where ongoing conflict since 2020 has displaced thousands, thrown the healthcare system into disarray, destroyed crops, caused massive trade barriers, disrupted education, and restricted access to humanitarian aid.
More than 81% of household crops in the Tigray region of Ethiopia were deliberately destroyed in months of fighting, burning, and destruction.
Nearby in Somalia, decades of civil war has shaken the country. Critical infrastructure has been destroyed, forcing farmers to abandon their lands as grocery prices skyrocketed by more than 80%, according to a March 2024 report by the United Nations.
Deaths from starvation in Ethiopia and Somalia are rising—fast. And conflict isn’t the only factor to blame.
Conflict is often the last and deadliest symptom of a web of issues such as drought, disaster, resource scarcity, economic instability, and a general lack of opportunities.
GlobalGiving launched the East Africa Hunger Relief Fund to get flexible, emergency, and long-term funding to communities in Ethiopia, Somalia, and other countries in the region experiencing hunger. The Humanitarian Relief and Development Council is at the forefront of helping communities experiencing hunger in Somalia. The local organization provides emergency relief including food and water to people who need them most. The organization also offers skills training to increase economic opportunities and provide farming resources like seeds and tools to help communities grow their own food.
Humanitarian Relief and Development Council is one of more than 20 vetted nonprofit partners powering GlobalGiving’s East Africa Hunger Relief Fund.
Support GlobalGiving’s East Africa Hunger Relief Fund
Yes. Climate change causes hunger in many ways. Changing temperature and precipitation patterns tends to decrease productivity, which often means less food from greater resource inputs. The increase in extreme weather also hurts crop health and productivity.
When harvests are less bountiful, price spikes—which influence low-income communities more deeply than people who can afford the nearly 4% price spike being witnessed worldwide.
Haiti is one of the countries already experiencing significant damages due to climate change. Haiti’s tropical climate and exposure to a grueling sequence of flood and drought is straining local resources and leading to conflict.
Sonje Ayiti Organization is a Haitian-led organization that distributes food, water, and seeds to hundreds of families. The seeds are for when security is too unstable for distribution, and they select fast-growing seeds like corn and beans that can be eaten or sold as income generators. Recently, new nurseries were set up along with three acres of pumpkin and yucca plantations to reinforce sustainable access to food for hundreds of families in the region.
Sonje Ayiti Organization is a Haitian-led organization that distributes food, water, and seeds to hundreds of families. The seeds are for when security is too unstable for distribution, and they select fast-growing seeds like corn and beans that can be eaten or sold as income generators. Recently, new nurseries were set up along with three acres of pumpkin and yucca plantations to reinforce sustainable access to food for hundreds of families in the region.
Sonje Ayiti Organizationis one of eight partners that have received flexible funding from GlobalGiving’s Haiti Crisis Relief Fund.
Support GlobalGiving’s Haiti Crisis Relief Fund.
Disasters create hunger hotspots by disrupting food systems, livelihoods, and access to resources. Take the 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Herat City, Afghanistan as one example. At least 2,500 people died and 10,000 homes were destroyed, adding more devastation to a country still dealing with the Taliban takeover that forced thousands from their homes and denied them their basic rights. Decades of drought and economic collapse had already pushed thousands into poverty.
Action for Development (AfD) is an Afghan-led nonprofit that focused on reaching remote areas where intentional organizations’ services were less accessible in the aftermath of the earthquakes. One of those areas was Ghawgha Village, Zindajan—a partially isolated area that is now more equipped to meet the basic needs of villagers for schooling, water filters, and food.
struggle more to keep up with rising grocery and produce prices. They are also more likely to live in areas where access to affordable, nutritious food is available.
In Honduras, our partners at Shoulder to Shoulder reported that 40% of children under age five in Southern Intibuca, a place of “unforgiving poverty and scarce opportunity,” are stunted and around half are anemic.
The nonprofit is combating hunger with eggs—more specifically, with hens. Because of the challenges in delivering eggs, Shoulder to Shoulder finds and supports various women who want to raise chickens and eggs. Those eggs are then used as an incentive for parents to bring their children aged 2 and below to their local health center for a monthly weight and height check-up—during which they receive a ticket for 30 free eggs.
As a project leader wrote on their page, “this project is a WIN-WIN-WIN. children receive needed nutrients through the daily eating of eggs. The women who raise the hens and eggs receive revenue from both Shoulder to Shoulder and local customers. The communities win because eggs are purchased locally, thus keeping money in southern Intibuca, where it is desperately needed.”
The loss of biodiversity caused by human activities also threatens the species and ecosystem services vital for food production, such as soil fertility and pollination. Modern agricultural practices also strip lands and soils of vital nutrients and minerals that lead to health risks and nutritional deficiencies. According to the UN, soil erosion may reduce up to 10% of global crop yields by 2050—that is equivalent to millions of acres of farmland.
Addressing hunger hotspots requires a combination of strategies and solutions and must be holistic in nature. When exploring solutions to hunger hotspots, it’s helpful to break the topic up into two categories: immediate action and long-term responses.
Immediate action refers to the work that communities, governments, and groups do to help people get food immediately.
Food Distribution: Provide immediate food aid through local distribution centers, emergency food banks, and mobile food units.
Cash Transfers: Implement cash transfer programs to allow families to purchase food directly, which can be more effective and efficient than food aid in some contexts.
Nutritional Supplements: Distribute micronutrient supplements to address acute malnutrition, especially among children and pregnant women.
Some long-term solutions to eliminate hunger hotspots include:
1. Sustainable agriculture and food production
2. Peace and diplomacy work
3. Economic development and livelihood opportunities
4. Food security systems
5. Social protection and safety nets
6. Policy and governance
7. Community engagement and empowerment
8. Climate change adaptation
9. Infrastructure development
10. Food sovereignty programs
11. Indigenous and ancestral knowledge
GlobalGiving believes that community-led responses to hunger are a critical piece in the puzzle of ending hunger.
The ongoing crisis in Gaza, where aid and food deliveries have been challenging or impossible, signal the need for grassroots approaches to hunger. Mrs. Najah, a community member supported by Rebuilding Alliance, summarizes the dire situation in the Gaza Strip:
“My name is Najah and I am a refugee, born and raised in a refugee camp in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Despite the current challenges, I remain committed to serving my community. I have been doing this for over 20 years. My job is to understand people’s needs and try to meet them as much as possible. In this time of war, it’s important to help and feed the displaced, starting with one pot and one kitchen.”
Community members like Ms. Najah who already live in the hunger hotspot are better equipped to serve their communities’ unique and specific needs.
Food sovereignty is a concept that emphasizes the rights of people to define their own food and agriculture systems, including the production, distribution, and consumption of food, in ways that are culturally, socially, economically, and ecologically appropriate.
To learn more about food sovereignty, we spoke to activist and executive director Donaldo Zuniga of RED COMAL:
“Personally, I believe that to end hunger, the neglected tactic has been the lack of knowledge of the potential and capacities that communities have to produce their own food…. Agroecological production must be promoted and implemented, in harmony with life and nature. We must remember that we only have one planet earth and it is a high priority to stop its destruction.”
Read more about Donaldo’s unique perspective on ending world hunger here.
Another component that often goes undiscussed is the idea of cultural heritage and food security. Around the world, the arrival of non-native human populations from Europe meant the displacement of native populations and the dividing up of resources.
Our partners at the Highland Support Project describe the problem well:
“Since Westward Expansion in the 1800s, Native American populations have lacked enough access to water. Eastern settlers pushed Native Americans off of fertile land and damned and diverted rivers to benefit the colonists’ endeavors, which took water access away from the area’s original inhabitants. This has led to water and agricultural issues that still exist today. Tribes, including the White Mountain Apaches, also face Climate Change droughts and high rates of food insecurity.”
The organization is decolonizing food education and restoring cultural food pathways by bringing generations together.
To put it into a more broad perspective, ancestral food lineages are the foods that people from different regions ate thousands of years ago. These foods were often local, organic, seasonal, and environmentally sustainable.
The link between colonization and food systems can be seen around the world, and often operates through policy-based loans that orient national and local production to external or colonial economies as opposed to local markets. Locally-led nonprofits are well suited to help communities build circular economies where food production stays within the area and implement sustainable agricultural practices that create more resilient and productive ecosystems by working with the land instead of against it.
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