World Hunger Facts

A child eats Plumpy'Nut, a peanut paste used to treat malnutrition.
Sandra Calligaro
Action Against Hunger, Afghanistan
A member of one of Action Against Hunger's mother-to-mother support groups stands in front of her livestock.

There is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone on the planet. Yet as many as 783 million people still go hungry.

A member of one of Action Against Hunger's mother-to-mother support groups stands in front of her livestock.
Samina (right), an Action Against Hunger Community Health Worker, checks 4-year-old Kailash's arm with a color-coded measuring tape to see if he has gained weight since her last visit.
A man weeds in his fields.
01. 02. 03.

Global hunger crisis in 2023

After steadily declining for a decade, world hunger is on the rise, affecting nearly 10% of people globally. From 2019 to 2022, the number of undernourished people grew by as many as 150 million, a crisis driven largely by conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

A boy's upper arm is measured with a color-coded band to determine his malnutrition status. His arm is very thin and found in the "red" category, an indication of severe acute malnutrition.
14M

Children Suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition

A mother gives her baby Plumpy'Nut to treat malnutrition at an Action Against Hunger nutrition center.
45%

Of Child Deaths Worldwide Are Due to Hunger & Related Causes

A young girl pumps water from a pump built by Action Against Hunger in 2008. Reliable access to clean water, safe sanitation, and good hygiene remains a challenge in Haiti.
700

Children Die Each Day from Illnesses Caused by Dirty Water and Unhygienic Living Conditions.

What is hunger?

Hunger is more complicated than empty bellies. It’s a multifaceted problem with many root causes and far-reaching impact. The first step to ending the global hunger crisis is to understand what it is and why it exists in a world of plenty.

Who does hunger affect?

An overwhelming majority of the world’s hungry people reside in the developing world, where extreme poverty and lack of access to nutritious food often leads to malnutrition. Women and children are particularly vulnerable.

Severe drought in the Horn and East Africa is displacing communities and driving hunger that threatens to worsen in the coming months.
A mother breastfeeds her child in her home.
Stephane Rakotomalala
Action Against Hunger, Madagascar
Nadia nurses her youngest child, 2 months old, at home in Duykondi Province, Afghanistan. Action Against Hunger works in this area to manage feeding programs and provide mobile health and nutrition support.
Ghulam Reza Nazari
Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)

Due to the severe drought in Somalia, Mumina has no food and no breastmilk left to feed her youngest baby.

“What Can I Give Her?”

Today, we made dried tamarind. You crush the tamarind until it’s a sticky paste. Then you add ash and cook it. We’ll eat it this evening. It’s not healthy at all, but at least we have something warm in our bellies.”

— Tsiharatie, a mother of seven children in Madagascar

“We Have Nothing to Eat Because of the Drought”

Both me and my child were very weak. We do not have enough food - just a bit of rice, wheat, and flour, nothing else. Pregnant women here face the risk of death, and they face many other risks. They do a lot of work, and they have no choice because there is no one else to work.”

— Nadia, a mother of five in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Voices of Mothers

What Causes World Hunger?

The world's hungriest countries

These countries need immediate life-saving help.

See Our Work in 50+ Countries