Hunger & the Climate Crisis
Droughts. Floods. Wildfires. More than 80% of the world’s hungriest people live in disaster-prone countries. Without your help, the number of people worldwide who need humanitarian assistance due to climate-related disasters could double by 2050.
Climate starves the most vulnerable people in the world.
More frequent and intense weather events are destroying land, livestock and crops. We’re doing everything we can to help people prepare for and overcome this devastating new reality. But we can’t do it alone.
See the latest @WFPUSA #ClimateStarves
Extreme weather events have more than doubled in the last thirty years and intensified
22 million people are displaced annually due to climate-related disasters
Nearly a quarter of the world's farmable lands are degraded, destroying land and crops
Extreme Weather = Extreme Hunger
Help Us Stop the Vicious Cycle
Disaster Strikes
Millions of people living in fragile, disaster-prone areas have limited resources to adapt to climate change and are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events - like floods, droughts or hurricanes - when they hit.
Source: Climate Change Infographic Photo: WFP/Tsiory Andriantsoarana
Immediate Effects
Lives and livelihoods are lost as homes, land, livestock, crops and essential food supplies are destroyed.
Source: Climate Change Infographic Photo: WFP/Sayed Asif Mahmud
Coping Measures
Food prices skyrocket as supplies dwindle. Parents take their children out of school, people eat less and less, and families sell any remaining valuable assets - like tools and cattle - to afford a meal.
Source: Climate Change Infographic Photo: WFP/Marwa Awad
Food and Nutrition Crisis
The lack of food and nutrition, which has been building up since the disaster hit, now explodes into a full-blown crisis. Families become largely dependent on humanitarian aid.
Source: Climate Change Infographic Photo: WFP/Tsiory Andriantsoarana
Long-Term Impacts
People's overall food consumption drops and their dietary diversity reduces to just a few foods. Malnourishment rises, especially among women. Rates of stunting and wasting in children increase.
Source: Climate Change Infographic Photo: WFP/Amadou Baraze
Another Disaster Strikes
Hungry and malnourished people are even less able to withstand another disaster and they suffer graver consequences each time a flood or drought strikes. Some families attempt to leave but, without resources, many have no choice but to stay.
Source: Climate Change Infographic
Support Our Climate Resilience Projects
We’re the largest hunger-fighting agency in the world. We understand the impacts of extreme weather events, and we can help vulnerable communities prepare for, recover from and build resilience to them. But we need your support to do it.
Infrastructure
We provide food to people in exchange for their work on community assets like bridges, dams and irrigation systems. These projects can withstand extreme weather and have extra benefits like promoting nutrition and gender equality.
Land Rehabilitation
We help communities restore degraded land, diversify their crops and build community gardens. One project in South Sudan increased agricultural land by 27% in just two years to a size of 15,000 football fields. We invested $610M in activities like these last year.
Innovation
We use every available tool to help people withstand climate shocks: hydroponics, satellite imagery and landscape monitoring software, just to name a few. Our ‘Innovation Accelerator’ team has launched 23 such projects in 30 countries.
Food Storage
In areas prone to extreme weather events, every single grain counts. Farmers in Africa lose about 40% of all the food they harvest due to insects, pests and mold. We’re changing that with air-tight silos and bags, reducing food loss from 40% to 2%.
