The Global Food Crisis: Have We Made Any Progress?

We’re nearly two years into the global food crisis. Where are we now and what is left for us to do?

04 Dec, 2023

The nature of the global food crisis is evolving. But with your prayers and support, together we are responding as a global neighbourhood to answer hunger with hope. Let’s explore the impact you have made so far and how you can respond today to meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable.

The impact of your support

You moved with profound generosity in the last year.

Your support has made it possible for our local partners to provide 255,000 households with food packs.

This is an incredible figure. But behind each number is a family that you have blessed not only with food but with peace, joy and hope.

“When we receive the food packs, I feel at peace; my child has milk and biscuits and good food to eat.” —Rohini, mother of Kabishani, Sri Lanka

“The provision was like manna. It came at a time we desperately needed support. When I gathered the caregivers and broke the good news to them, the church compound was filled with shouts of joy. Many sobbed uncontrollably. It was like they were allowed to live again.” —Solomon, Centre Director, Ethiopia

“Besides helping me to improve my health and physical condition, the extra food has given me hope and motivated me to continue going to school to achieve my goals.” —Ricardo, Compassion assisted student, Dominican Republic

Beyond individual households, food security has significantly improved for children and families we serve in Colombia, Ghana and Togo. Our local partners are closely monitoring food insecurity in their communities, but at this stage, your donations to urgent food relief have helped stabilise the situation.
Children will continue to be supported through Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program, which includes regular medical check-ups to ensure they are growing well and nutritious meals at their child development centre. Caregivers will be supported through livelihood training so they can increase their income to provide meals for their families.

We thank God for the work of our local partners and your generous support. But the global food crisis is still severely affecting nine of our partner countries:

• Burkina Faso
• El Salvador
• Ethiopia
• Guatemala
• Haiti
• Kenya
• Malawi
• Sri Lanka
  
• Uganda
  

For Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Haiti and Sri Lanka in particular, compounding shocks like severe weather events, rising food costs and conflict greatly hinder their ability to recover from the food crisis. Urgent food relief is required to help the families hardest hit. You can answer hunger with hope by donating to our Christmas appeal or sponsoring a child who lives in one of these countries.

How Compassion is responding

Compassion’s response looks different in each local context. We are uniquely positioned to respond effectively to the shifting needs of children through our local partnerships. Thirty per cent of the population connected with 1,946 of our local partners are struggling with food insecurity.

However, children and their caregivers are known by name and local staff are lovingly implementing initiatives to help them through the food crisis. This looks like providing families with much-needed food packs, growing a community garden, packing lunches for school children, or running agricultural training.

The impacts of the global food crisis are devastating and far-reaching, but our local partners are committed to caring for children long-term. A lack of food doesn’t just mean hunger today—it means problems tomorrow. When children don’t get adequate nutrition, they risk developmental delays, poor school performance and long-term health problems.

Now is the time to work together as a global neighbourhood to end hunger.

According to the Global Report on Food Crises Mid-Year Update, 238 million people are facing acute food insecurity (based on 48 countries who had available data, out of 73 countries impacted by the global food crisis). 27.2 million children under the age of 5 are experiencing wasting, a form of malnutrition.

Looking at the big picture, it is easy to feel hopeless at the state of our world. But this Christmas, we are choosing a different path. We are carrying the hope of our God and letting that hope lead our response.

At a time when we’re all asking ourselves ‘what can I do?’, we know we can do this: pray for the big, care for the small.

Pray for the big

It may seem impossible to change the big picture of hunger, conflict, rising food costs and natural disasters. But it is possible for God.

Consider these words from Luke 11:5–10:

“Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

We can ask our all-powerful God to transform our global landscape and bring His peace and provision to our world.

Care for the small

Your support can make a difference for a child in need. Millions of children are unfairly trapped at the centre of the global food crisis. Our God has a heart for children and cares to see them lifted out of hunger and hopelessness so they can reach their full potential.

In Matthew 25:35-40, it says:

“‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

This Christmas, you can respond to God’s call to care for children. Your gift of $200 can put food on the table for four families for a month.

Will you act now and answer hunger with hope?

Donate Now

Words by Rachel Huckel.