Context

• The 2024 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), released on April 24, 2024, found that approximately 282 million people in 59 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2023, with extreme weather being the second most important cause of food crisis.

Key Points

• The overall share of the analysed population facing high levels of acute food insecurity was slightly lower than in 2022, but still higher than pre-COVID-19.
• In fact, for four consecutive years, the proportion of people facing acute food insecurity has remained consistently high at around 22 per cent of those assessed, significantly higher than pre-COVID-19 levels.
• Conflict/insecurity became the primary driver in 20 countries in 2023, with food crises worsening alarmingly in conflict hotspots, particularly Palestine (Gaza Strip) and Sudan, directly affecting 135 million people.
• The Gaza Strip has become the area with the most severe food crisis in the last eight years of GRFC reporting.
• The report analysed a population of 1.3 billion in 2023 in 59 countries. The share of the analysed population facing high levels of acute food insecurity was slightly lower than in 2022. However, the number of people affected has increased by 24 million since 2022, marking the fifth consecutive year of rising numbers.
• Overall, 1 in 5 people evaluated required serious immediate action.
• The situation of acute food insecurity worsened in 12 countries with comparable data between 2022 and 2023, where more than 13.5 million people needed urgent assistance, mostly in Sudan.

Cause of food insecurity

• El Nino conditions, currently prevalent in the equatorial Pacific, are generally responsible for warm temperatures in many places around the world, including India.
• State of armed rebellion (Sudan)
• War situation (Gaza Strip) etc.

Sudan a case study

• Sudan is facing one of the worst food crises in the world, with almost a third of the population in need of emergency food aid. The armed conflict that began a year ago in the African country has reached its south-eastern regions, known as the country's breadbasket.
• It is noteworthy that Southeastern Sudan contributes more than half of Sudan's total grain production and is the main area of national grain storage.

Gaza strip a case study

• After almost 7 months of Israeli bombing, people are unable to meet their very basic food needs.
• They have tried all means and options to cope with hunger, including feeding animals, begging and selling their basic possessions to buy food. Some of them have even died from starvation. Have been. The only way to prevent this famine is to ensure prompt supply of adequate food items in a very short period of time.

Important Facts For Exam

About GRFC

• It is the reference document for a comprehensive analysis of global, regional and country-level acute food insecurity.
• The result of a collaborative effort between 16 partners, the report aims to inform humanitarian and development action by providing independent and consensus-based evidence and analysis.