The Food and Agriculture Organization's Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) released last week on food crises revealed that nearly 282 million people in 59 countries experienced high levels of acute hunger in 2023, an increase of 24 million people from the previous year. . This increase is due to increased coverage of food crisis contexts and the sharp deterioration in food security, especially in the Gaza Strip and Sudan. For four consecutive years, the proportion of people facing acute food insecurity has remained persistently high at around 22% of those assessed, significantly exceeding pre-COVID-19 levels.
Children and women are at the forefront of these hunger crises, with more than 36 million children under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition in 32 countries. Acute malnutrition will worsen in 2023, especially among those displaced by conflict and disasters. The Global Network Against Food Crises is urgently calling for a transformative approach that integrates peace, prevention and development action alongside large-scale emergency efforts to break the cycle of acute hunger.
Thirty-six countries have been consistently included in the Global Food Resources Report's analyzes since 2016, accounting for 80% of the world's hungriest people. In 2023, more than 705,000 people were at disaster level food insecure and at risk of famine, the highest number in GRFC reporting history and a four-fold increase since 2016. The current situation in the Gaza Strip represents 80 percent of those in imminent danger. famine, along with South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Mali.
Food crises are caused by worsening conflicts, insecurity, economic shocks and extreme weather events, which exacerbate the fragility of food systems, rural marginalization, poor governance and inequality. These factors lead to the displacement of large numbers of people globally, affecting the protection status of displaced populations. Conflict remains the main driver affecting 20 countries, with nearly 135 million people suffering from acute food insecurity, nearly half the global number. Extreme weather events are the main driver in 18 countries, with more than 77 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity. In 2023, the world experienced its hottest year on record, with climate-related shocks impacting populations. Economic shocks primarily affect 21 countries, with approximately 75 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity due to high dependence on imported food and agricultural inputs.
To break the cycle of food crises, urgent long-term national and international investments are needed to transform food systems, promote agricultural and rural development, and provide vital life-saving assistance at scale. Peace and prevention must also be integrated into long-term food systems transformation to prevent lifelong hunger and ensure that the most vulnerable do not starve.
The international community has made bold commitments, including recent G7 and G20 initiatives, to reverse rising acute food insecurity. The Global Network Against Food Crises offers to leverage its experience in the field of hunger in the most vulnerable countries to strengthen links and build cohesion between these global initiatives.