SSA Continues to Face Increasing Acute Food Insecurity: 2024 GRFC Mid-Year Update Released
Africa south of the Sahara has continued to face alarmingly high levels of acute food insecurity in 2024, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) Mid-Year Update. This includes populations in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe) food insecurity in Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali, with famine plausible in some areas of Sudan.
As in previous years and reported in the April release of the GRFC, conflict, extreme weather events, economic shocks, and forced displacement of large populations have driven worsening food and nutrition security outcomes across the continent.
Acute Food Insecurity Remains Alarmingly High in SSA: Global Report on Food Crises Released
Despite some marginal improvements at the country level, Africa south of the Sahara remains mired in acute food insecurity and escalating food crises, according to the 2024 Global Report on Food Crisis (GRFC). Conflict, extreme weather events, economic shocks, and forced displacement continue to drive up rates of food insecurity and malnutrition throughout the region, with the outlook for 2024 equally grim.
Central and Southern Africa
Global Report on Food Crises Midyear Update: SSA Continues to Grapple with High Levels of Acute Food Insecurity
While some countries in Africa South of the Sahara have seen improvements in food security in 2023, the region as a whole continues to be plagued by food crises, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2023 Midyear Update. East Africa has been the hardest hit, with nearly 65 million people in the region having experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in the first half of 2023, up 8 million from 2022.
Global Report on Food Crises 2023 (mid-year update)
Acute Food Insecurity Rampant in Africa South of the Sahara: GRFC Released
More than 205 Million People Facing Acute Food Insecurity: GRFC Mid Year Update Released
For the fourth consecutive year, global acute food insecurity rose in 2022. As many as 205.1 million people across 45 countries and territories are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or higher food insecurity as of September 2022, according to the Global Report on Food Crisis Mid-Year Update. That represents an increase of 29.5 million people from 2021.
Global Food Insecurity Hits All-Time High: 2022 Global Report on Food Crises Released
In many places around the world, hunger is worse than ever before.
That’s the message of the 2022 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), released this week. The report paints a grim picture of global food security. Almost 193 million people across 53 countries/territories were acutely food insecure in 2021, up nearly 40 million people from 2020. This number represents a new record and is only expected to worsen throughout 2022.
Global Report on Food Crises: Joint Analysis for Better Decisions, September 2021 Update
Global Report on Food Crises - 2020 September update
The annual Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) provides a consensus-based overview of the world’s food crises. It focuses on crises where the local capacities to respond are insufficient, prompting a request for the urgent mobilization of the international community, as well as countries/territories where there is ample evidence that the magnitude and severity of the food crisis exceed the local resources and capacities needed to respond effectively.
Key messages from Global Report on Food Crises 2024 Mid-Year Update
In the Sudan, Famine (IPC Phase 5) is ongoing in the Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) site near El Fasher, North Darfur, and is expected to persist through October 2024. Many other areas throughout the country are at risk of Famine but insufficient data inhibited analysis for many hard-to-reach areas. In total, 25.6 million people in the Sudan are estimated to face high levels of acute food insecurity during the June–September lean season – a 26 percent increase since the same period in 2023. The conflict has also had severe implications for regional food and nutrition security, with more than 2 million people forced to flee to neighbouring countries, mainly to major food-crisis countries including Chad and South Sudan.
The Gaza Strip (Palestine) remains the most severe food crisis in the history of the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), with all 2.2 million residents still in urgent need of food and livelihood assistance between March and April 2024. The severity of the crisis has intensified, with half of the population in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) during this period, up from a quarter in December 2023–February 2024. Although this was projected to decrease to 22 percent in June–September 2024 and available evidence did not indicate Famine (IPC Phase 5), the risk of Famine persists.
Shocks, such as intensifying conflict, El Ninõ-induced drought and high domestic food prices drove worsening food crises in 18 countries by mid-2024. Nigeria, the Sudan, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Chad and Yemen all had at least 1 million more people facing high levels of acute food insecurity than during the 2023 peak.
Better harvests and stabilizing economies drove improvements in food security in 16 countries. Afghanistan, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala and Lebanon all had at least 1 million fewer people facing high levels of acute food insecurity since the 2023 peak, but they remain major food crises.
Forced displacement of people in food-crisis countries/territories continues to increase, with alarming numbers of people in the Gaza Strip and the Sudan exposed to very high levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition.Acute malnutrition among children and women in food-crisis countries/territories is persistently high, especially in conflict-affected areas. The lack of affordability of a healthy diet is becoming an increasingly important driver.
Of the 14 countries without 2024 data, the Syrian Arab Republic was flagged by the latest FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots report as being of very high concern between June and October of 2024.
Percentage and absolute change in the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity between 2023 peak and 29 August, 2024
Of the 73 countries/territories identified as having food crises in the GRFC 2024, 45 have acute food security analyses valid for 2024.
This chart only includes changes in countries with two comparable analyses, therefore the following countries are not reported: Bangladesh, Benin, Guinea, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania. For Pakistan and Zambia, the peak analyses straddle 2023 and 2024. Year-on-year comparisons are made between the peak number in 2023 and the highest available number for 2024. If different periods are covered in both years the comparison is marked with *. Refer to GRFC 2024 for complete glossary, endorsed methodologies and comparability rules. Source: FSIN, 2024
The Global Report on Food Crises, an annual report published by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) and the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) brings together data and analysis from various early warning systems to provide a reference for coordinating humanitarian and development responses to ongoing and anticipated crises. The FSIN is a global initiative founded by FAO, WFP and IFPRI. FSIN’s work spans the effort of 16 global and regional partners committed to improving availability and quality of food security and nutrition analysis for better decision-making. It facilitates the GNAFC in obtaining better understanding of the extent and causes of food crises. The GNAFC is an alliance of humanitarian and development actors united by the commitment to tackle the root causes of food crises and promote sustainable solutions through shared analysis and knowledge, strengthened coordination in evidence-based responses and collective efforts across the humanitarian, development and peace nexus.