Food insecurity persists as a major issue worldwide, according to a survey conducted by Stack Data Strategy on behalf of the Hungry for Action campaign. The survey indicates that concerns related to "food supply and prices" consistently remain a priority globally, both in wealthier and poorer countries.

Difficulties in Access to Food

Access to food is one of the most basic life necessities. According to Hungry for Action, hunger affects 735 million people worldwide. Concerns about this, according to the survey, are widespread across the globe.

The survey asked respondents from 13 countries (Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to rank eight pressing global issues in order of concern. 20% of respondents said that "food supply and prices" were their top concern, and 84% of respondents ranked it at some level of concern.

Concerns related to food surpassed government corruption (which was the top concern for 17% of respondents), unemployment (16%), rising energy costs (12%), conflicts (11%), heatwaves (10%), wealth inequality (8%), and increasing authoritarianism (6%).

Food Prices

The rise in food prices has been a major cause of hunger worldwide in recent years, as major geopolitical events, such as the war in Ukraine, disrupt the global food supply chain.

However, according to Alice Macdonald, the director of the Hungry for Action campaign, the high levels of global hunger are not due to a single factor, such as inflation, but "a perfect storm of high prices for food, fertilizers, and fuels, as a result of the worsening crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of climate change, the cost of living crisis, and the invasion of Ukraine, has led to a global food crisis, exacerbating the already devastating trend of rising hunger since 2014."

Nevertheless, Macdonald cites several surveys that have shown that rising food prices and inflation deeply exacerbate the issue. A survey conducted by IPSOS for World Vision International, involving 14,000 people in 16 countries, found that 37% of parents say their children fail to eat adequately, and 21% have died of hunger in the last month.

A survey conducted by ActionAid in 13 countries found that 74% of respondents switch to low-quality food, and 48% of mothers reduce the amounts of food they offer to their children, both as a result of rising food prices. In the latter survey, it was also demonstrated that food insecurity has secondary effects in other areas.

"The survey results also found the adoption of negative coping strategies that risk pushing families and communities into poverty and food and nutritional insecurity, such as taking on debts, selling assets (such as animals), reduced use of expensive fertilizers, resulting in reduced yields and lower incomes for farmers."

Food prices will continue to rise. According to the World Bank's Food Security Update, which shows data from June to September this year, 57.1% of low-income countries, 83% of low-middle-income countries, and 59% of upper-middle-income countries have inflation rates above 5%.

In Africa, according to the September 2023 Food Security Monitor from AGRA, there is more of a mix. In East Africa, excluding Ethiopia, food prices are dropping after a new harvest. In South Africa, countries like Malawi and Zambia face higher prices as the lean season begins. In Mali and Ghana, food prices are low, while in Niger and Nigeria, they are high.

Global Issues

In the Hungry for Action survey, respondents from both the global North (wealthier, "developed" countries) and the global South (poorer, "developing" countries) presented access and food supply as a concern, with those in the global South overwhelmingly seeing this more.

For example, 72% of respondents in Kenya and 71% in Nigeria were "very concerned" about the accessibility and affordability of food, compared to 41% in the United States.

Despite these differences, as well as differences between individual countries, for Macdonald, everyone is the same in that they all face hunger, and the causes are essentially very similar.

"Each country will need a specific approach, depending on the context of that country, but there are measures that will apply in all countries, including the need to address the root causes of hunger—poverty and inequality, as well as providing adequate social protection systems to provide a safety net for people, investing in climate change adaptation and mitigation, investing in small-scale food producers, and canceling the debts of poor countries."

She sees the way to bring these solutions as rooted in international collaboration. Events like COP28, G7 led by Italy, and G20 led by Brazil, spring and annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF are just a few that provide platforms for world leaders to discuss the issue.

To fight global hunger, she says, world leaders must address the "fundamental causes" of the "polycrisis" leading to food insecurity.