Catastrophe-Level Food Insecurity Highest Ever Recorded: GRFC Mid-Year Update Released

According to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) Mid-Year Update, the number of people facing or expected to face IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe/Famine) food insecurity more than doubled from 2023 to 2024: from just over 700,000 people to 1.9 million people in four countries/territories. This is the highest number ever recorded by GRFC reporting.

Ongoing conflicts in the Gaza Strip (Palestine) and Sudan are driving this stark rise in acute food insecurity. As reported in August, famine is now plausible in the Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in North Darfur, Sudan, with other areas of the country also at risk of famine. The situation is even more dire in Gaza, where half of the territory’s 2.2 million residents facing Catastrophe-level food insecurity between March and April 2024. The situation in Gaza is the most severe food crisis in the history of the GRFC, and the risk of famine persists for large swathes of the country’s population.

Major food crises also persist in Afghanistan, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, and Lebanon, and crises have worsened in Nigeria, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Chad, and Yemen.

As in the April release of the 2024 GRFC, conflict, climate change and extreme weather events, and economic shocks continue to drive the world’s major food crises. The update highlights that in addition to disrupting livelihoods and interrupting access to food and humanitarian aid for populations immediately impacted by the fighting, conflicts have larger food security ramifications for surrounding regions and countries due to the increase in IDP and migrant populations. As many as 99.1 million people across 59 countries/territories had experienced forced displacement as of July 2024. Such displacement places additional burdens on the food systems, infrastructure, health services, and other key services in surrounding areas.

Worsening extreme weather events, including 12 consecutive months of record heat levels, have also posed significant challenges for food production in many regions. Such extreme weather events can also exacerbate existing conflicts or even kindle new ones, driving further food security and societal risks.

Both conflict and climate change-driven weather events also impact global food markets, bringing volatility and the risk of disruption in food systems. While inflation has slowed in some countries, it remains high in many others.

The report’s authoring institutions have renewed their call for increased investment in food and nutrition security data collection and monitoring, as well as increased political commitment to ending ongoing conflicts and supporting the needs of displaced populations.

Sara Gustafson is a freelance communications consultant.