Muhammad Hammad

As the year 2030 looms and just seven years remain to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, nearly three-quarters of a billion people are unable to exercise their right to adequate food. Hunger is not new, and neither are its drivers.

What is new is that we now live in a time of what has been termed “poly-crisis”: the compounding impacts of climate change, conflicts, economic shocks, the global pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war have exacerbated social and economic inequalities and slowed or reversed previous progress in reducing hunger in many countries.

The 2023 Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows that, after many years of advancement up to 2015, progress against hunger worldwide remains largely at a standstill. As the effects of crises multiply and intensify, more and more people are experiencing severe hunger, with the situation expected to worsen throughout the year.

This report spotlights the experiences of youth and highlights the need for young people in their diversity to play a central role in shaping the systems of today for a sustainable, equitable, and resilient future. To break down the barriers to their full participation in food systems, young people’s capacities must be strengthened and agriculture and food systems must be promoted as viable and attractive livelihoods. Meaningfully engaging youth as leaders can unlock their potential as innovative agents of change and harness their energy and dynamism to transform food systems.

The 2023 Global Hunger Index shows that since 2015, little progress has been made in reducing hunger. The 2023 GHI score for the world is 18.3, considered moderate. This is less than one point below the world’s 2015 GHI score of 19.1, indicating that progress on reducing hunger has largely stalled.

In contrast, between 2000, 2008, and 2015, the world made significant headway against hunger. There has been an increase in the prevalence of undernourishment, one of the indicators used in the calculation of GHI scores, rising from a low of 7.5 percent in 2017 to 9.2 percent in 2022.

The number of undernourished people in the world increased from 572 million to 735 million in this period. The 2023 GHI scores are based on data from 2018–2022, including the latest data available in this period for each of the four GHI indicators. Because the vast majority of these data are from 2020 or later, they can more fully capture the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic than the data in previous GHI reports.

Many countries are experiencing severe hunger in 2023, with the situation expected to worsen throughout the year.

The countries at the highest level of concern for 2023 are Afghanistan, Haiti, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen, as well as Burkina Faso and Mali in the Sahel region. South Asia and South of the Sahara are the world regions with the highest hunger levels, with GHI scores of 27.0 each, indicating serious hunger in both regions. For the past two decades, these two regions have consistently had the highest levels of hunger, which were considered alarming in 2000 and serious according to the 2008 and 2015 GHI scores. While both South Asia and South of the Sahara achieved considerable progress between 2000 and 2015, a comparison of the 2015 and 2023 scores shows that progress has nearly halted, reflecting the trend seen for the world as a whole. According to GHI projections, at the current pace, 58 countries will not achieve low hunger by 2030.

The Russia-Ukraine war contributed to global food price spikes in 2022 and continues to pose a threat to food security.

Because of the large quantities of grain and fertilizer produced by Ukraine and Russia, disruptions to supply chains in the region can have significant ripple effects throughout the world, as evident in February 2022, when food prices spiked, mostly in anticipation of future grain and supply shortages. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed by Russia and Ukraine in July 2022, allowed for the export of agricultural products out of Ukraine and calmed international markets. However, the agreement’s expiration in 2023 without a guarantee of its renewal, and other events such as the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, have highlighted the vulnerability that arises from the world’s dependence on exports from this volatile region.

Policy Recommendations

The world is confronting overlapping crises that are exacerbating social and economic inequalities and reversing progress against hunger. Large demographic groups such as women and youth are carrying the burden of these crises but are underrepresented in policy discussions and decisions on food systems that affect them. These recommendations highlight the interest of youth in shaping their future as well as their right to do so. Generational and gender justice must underpin equitable, sustainable, and resilient food systems that fulfill the right to adequate food for current and future generations.

• Put the right to food for all at the heart of food systems transformation.

• Invest in young people’s capacities to be leaders in food systems transformation.

• Invest in sustainable, equitable, and resilient food systems to ensure they offer viable and attractive livelihoods to young people.

Lastly, it is ironic that while there is some attention given to global hunger, there is limited attention given and no action taken on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza which is experiencing food deprivation for 2 million people.