Photo: WFP/Reem Nada

What Causes

Hunger?

Here are the top issues driving world hunger today.

The Cause of Hunger

is not what you think

Ending hunger isn’t about supply. The world produces enough food to feed everyone on the planet. The problem is access and availability, both of which are disrupted by things like extreme weather, food waste, one’s gender and – worst of all – conflict.

Ending hunger is the greatest challenge of our time, but together it’s solvable.

The Biggest Drivers of Hunger

Conflict

Conflict is the #1 driver of hunger in the world, and it’s entirely preventable. It uproots families, destroys economies, ruins infrastructure and halts agricultural production.

60%of the world’s hungriest people live in conflict zones
68Mpeople are currently displaced due to conflict
Climate Change

Climate change is one of the leading causes of global hunger, causing more frequent and intense extreme weather events. Over 80% of the world’s hungry people live in disaster-prone countries.

2Xextreme weather events have doubled in the last 30 years
$23Bhas been spent by WFP on climate-related crises in 10 years
Photo: AP/CARE/Josh Estey
Gender Inequality

In nearly two-thirds of countries around the world, women are more likely than men to suffer from hunger and malnourishment. That’s because in many cases, women eat last and least.

60%of the 821 million hungry people on the planet are women and girls
1 in 3women has anemia, a diet-related illness that causes organ damage
Food Waste

Nearly one-third of all the food produced globally each year is lost or wasted. If we could recover all the food we waste, we could feed every hungry person on the planet twice over.

40%of all the food African farmers grow is lost due to insects, pests and mold
20lbsof food is wasted every month by the average American
Photo: WFP/Will Baxter
Covid-19 Pandemic

New data shows the novel coronavirus has doubled the number of hungry people worldwide.
Its impact on supply chains, humanitarian access, the global economy and food supplies threatens to push 20 countries into famine or famine-like conditions. For 30 million of these people, WFP is quite literally their only source of food. Without it, they face starvation.

Extreme Poverty

Half the world’s population lives on less $5.50 a day.
Poverty is often at the heart of hunger – it’s brought on or made worse by drivers like conflict and natural disasters. When people can’t afford the food their families need, it limits their children’s physical and emotional development and perpetuates the cycle of hunger and poverty.

Photo: WFP/Luis Tato

Hunger and malnutrition are part of an ongoing cycle, as both a cause and effect of many other factors too, like inequality and lack of education.

These factors are within our power to change.

That’s why hunger is also the world’s most solvable problem.

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How much do you know about the causes of global hunger? Let’s find out! The answers may surprise you.