A Planet That Forgot to Feed Its People

GLOBAL REPORT

🎯 Thematic Focus:

Hunger | Food Security | Global Development | Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

🕊️ Opening Whisper

Hunger is not just an empty stomach — it is a silence that echoes through failed systems, broken promises, and forgotten lives.

🔍 Key Highlights:

• The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2025, released by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), reveals that 295 million people across 53 countries experienced acute hunger in 2024 — the highest ever recorded.
• Famine-level conditions affected 1.9 million people, more than double the number from 2023.
• Sudan, Gaza Strip, Mali, and Yemen are identified as the most critical hunger hotspots.
• The report defines acute food insecurity as a situation where one or more pillars of food security — availability, access, utilization, or stability — is severely disrupted.
• India was not among the 53 countries analysed, but the findings raise global policy concerns, especially under SDG 2: Zero Hunger.

⚠️ Major Drivers of Global Food Crisis in 2024

• Conflict and war affected over 140 million people in 20 countries.
• Economic shocks, such as inflation, currency devaluation, and rising debt, impacted 59.4 million people in 15 countries.
• Climate Change led to weather extremes and crop failure in 18 countries.
• Forced displacement and fragile state systems exacerbated food shortages.
• Cuts in humanitarian aid — with funding predicted to decline by up to 45% in 2025 — threaten to worsen hunger levels further.

📘 Concept Explainer: What is a Food Crisis?

• A food crisis occurs when acute food insecurity surpasses national response capacity, requiring urgent international aid.
• Different from chronic hunger, it involves life-threatening malnutrition, displacement, or risk of famine.
• The GRFC uses Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) to track crisis severity.
• Phase 5 (Catastrophe/Famine) indicates people facing starvation and death without immediate aid.

🌍 Most Affected Countries & Zones

• Sudan: Officially declared famine in parts of the country.
• Gaza Strip: Blockade-induced starvation and malnutrition.
• South Sudan, Haiti, Mali: High levels of IPC-4 & IPC-5 hunger.
• Children and women are the most affected groups — facing malnutrition, health shocks, and social breakdown.

🛠️ UN & Partner Recommendations

• Shift from relief to resilience-based development.
• Strengthen local food systems and community-based nutrition services.
• Scale up climate adaptation and early warning systems.
• Secure multi-year humanitarian financing — predictable and needs-driven.
• Prioritize the voices of affected communities in policy design.

🗺️ GS Paper Mapping:

• GS Paper 2: Governance – International Institutions & SDGs
• GS Paper 3: Food Security, Disaster Management, Climate Change
• Essay: Ethics, Equity, and Responsibility in Global Hunger Solutions

✨ A Thought Spark — by IAS Monk

No one starves alone. A starving child in Sudan or Gaza is not a number — they are the measure of how far humanity has drifted from its own heart.

High Quality Mains Essay For Practice :

Word Limit 1000-1200

A World on an Empty Plate: Unmasking the Global Hunger Crisis of 2024

Introduction

In a world of technological marvels, billion-dollar satellites, and surplus agricultural production, the fact that nearly 300 million people went hungry in 2024 is more than a tragedy — it is a systemic failure. The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2025, released by the Global Network Against Food Crises, paints a grim picture: famine, food insecurity, and malnutrition continue to worsen, especially in regions grappling with conflict, climate change, and economic shocks. This marks the sixth consecutive year of rising global hunger, challenging not only humanitarian conscience but also the credibility of Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2: Zero Hunger.

The Global Hunger Landscape: Shocking Statistics

According to the GRFC 2025:

• 295 million people in 53 countries faced acute hunger in 2024, up by 13.7 million from 2023.
• 1.9 million people experienced famine-level conditions (IPC Phase 5) — the highest since 2016.
• Sudan, Gaza, Mali, and Yemen are among the most severely affected regions.
• 22.6% of the assessed population is now living in food crisis conditions.

These are not mere numbers — they represent lives suspended in survival, often without access to basic health care, nutrition, or safety. Hunger is no longer just about food scarcity; it is a complex interplay of geopolitics, economics, and climate failure.

Root Causes of the Global Food Crisis

1. Armed Conflict:
   Conflict remains the primary driver, accounting for over 140 million hunger-affected people in 20 countries. In Sudan, civil war has cut off food routes; in Gaza, blockades have led to starvation; in South Sudan, violence has disrupted farming cycles.
2. Economic Shocks:
   Global inflation, currency devaluation, and high debt burdens have increased food prices and import costs. Nations like Haiti, Lebanon, and Sierra Leone have witnessed food insecurity due to economic collapse.
3. Climate Change:
   Droughts, floods, and erratic weather destroyed crops in 18 countries. Nations like Somalia, Madagascar, and Afghanistan saw harvest losses, water scarcity, and displacement due to climate-induced disasters.
4. Forced Displacement:
   Over 71 million people have been forcibly displaced due to violence and disasters. Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) often lack access to food markets or government support.
5. Declining Humanitarian Funding:
   The report warns that funding for food crises may drop by 45% in 2025, owing to donor fatigue, wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and rising domestic priorities in the West. This will further cripple operations by the WFP, UNHCR, and NGOs in critical regions.

Understanding Acute Food Insecurity

The GRFC uses the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) framework.

• IPC Phase 3: Crisis
• IPC Phase 4: Emergency
• IPC Phase 5: Catastrophe/Famine

Phase 5 means individuals face extreme hunger, malnutrition, and risk of death. This isn’t slow starvation — it is systemic collapse, often worsened by human-engineered conditions like sieges or sanctions.

Disproportionate Impact on Women and Children

The crisis disproportionately affects:

• Children: At risk of wasting, stunting, and cognitive delays.
• Women: Often eat last and least in patriarchal societies during food shortages.
• Pregnant women suffer from severe micronutrient deficiencies, increasing maternal and infant mortality.

In war-torn areas, food is sometimes weaponized — withheld, stolen, or used as a tool of control. Hunger becomes not just a humanitarian concern, but a human rights violation.

The Role of India and the Global South

While India was not included among the 53 countries analyzed, its role remains critical:

• As a major producer and exporter of food grains.
• Through initiatives like PM-POSHAN, eNAM, and digital PDS — models for hunger management.
• India’s commitment to food aid, such as sending wheat to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, reflects its soft power diplomacy.

Moreover, India must prepare for climate-linked food risks within its own borders — in states like Bihar, Odisha, and Bundelkhand — by enhancing crop insurance, agri-resilience, and nutrition awareness.

Recommendations: Moving from Relief to Resilience

The UN and partners urge:

• Integrated food systems at local levels to reduce import dependency.
• Climate-resilient agriculture and early warning systems.
• Community-centric nutrition programs, especially for mothers and infants.
• Predictable multi-year funding for humanitarian operations.
• Conflict resolution and peace-building, without which hunger cannot be sustainably addressed.

Conclusion

The world isn’t short of food. It is short of willpower, justice, and compassion. Hunger is not inevitable — it is preventable. Yet for the sixth year in a row, we have allowed nearly 300 million human beings to experience it.

In a globalized world, hunger anywhere is a failure everywhere. If humanity is to redeem itself, it must begin with the most basic vow — that no one should go to sleep hungry, ever again.

Target IAS-26: Daily MCQs :

📌 Prelims Practice MCQs

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