FAQs

• How is the global food crisis affecting children in poverty?

  As food prices climb, so do hunger and malnutrition in young children. The impact of childhood malnutrition is catastrophic and has both short- and long-term effects. The increased risks caused by malnutrition include:  

  • Diabetes, cardiovascular problems and cancer later in life
  • Growth stunting and wasting
  • Poor academic performance and intellectual development
    
  • Increased prevalence of attention deficit disorders  
    
  • Child marriage as girls are offered in marriage arrangements for dowries that will feed their families
    
  • Child labour as children leave school early to support their families
    
  • Premature death 

  Compassion’s 8,600 local church partners across over 25 countries are already responding to the global food crisis. You can help them provide immediate food packs and long-term food security by purchasing a Food Security Gift of Compassion or donating to Disaster Relief.

• What is the global food crisis?

  Conflict, extreme weather and COVID-19 have created a global food crisis that is having a devastating impact on children in poverty. According to the UN, the world is now moving backwards in its efforts to fight food insecurity and malnutrition. Because of the crisis, the number of people around the world with insufficient food has doubled. Hunger upends the lives of children in poverty and undermines holistic development.

  The global food crisis is affecting many of Compassion’s partner countries. The cost for Compassion’s church partners to provide meals for participants as part of normal programming will increase—and families will be even more reliant on those meals. Children living in poverty are likely to be at an increasingly severe risk of malnourishment or undernourishment and we must act now to bring urgent relief.

• Is my donation to the Answer Hunger With Hope appeal tax deductible?

  Yes. All donations of $2 and over to the Answer Hunger With Hope appeal are tax deductible. If you donate to Compassion through the Raisely platform, you will receive a tax receipt directly from Raisely and it will not appear on your Compassion Australia tax receipt at the end of the financial year.

  Compassion Australia has Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status for its Overseas Aid and Development Fund, as listed on the Australian Business Register under our ABN 67 001 692 566.

• What caused the global food crisis?

  The global food crisis has been caused by multiple factors: conflict, COVID-19, climate events and increasing costs.

  Climate

  Weather extremes pushed over 23 million people into acute food insecurity in 2021 alone. Drought is disrupting vital agriculture production, especially in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia where they’re approaching a fourth growing season without rain.

  Conflict

  The war in Ukraine is intensifying the food crisis because Russia and Ukraine are responsible for supplying almost 30 per cent of the world’s wheat and a significant amount of global fertiliser. Conflict pushed 139 million people in 24 countries into acute food insecurity in 2021.

  Costs

  There is not a shortage of food in the world but rather how much food costs and how it's being distributed. With households in emerging economies spending an average 25 per cent of their budgets on food—up to 40 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and 60 per cent in Haiti—rising inflation will place families in desperate situations.

  COVID-19

  The pandemic has drastically increased the number of families living with acute food insecurity. Loss of work, isolation rules and other restrictions have all contributed to this new crisis. In many nations, the pandemic continues to have a devastating effect on livelihoods.

• What is food insecurity?

  Food insecurity occurs when a person doesn’t have regular access to enough nutritious food. It’s caused when food simply isn’t available or when a person doesn’t have enough resources to obtain it, as is often the case for families living in poverty. At its worst, severe food insecurity means a person has had nothing to eat for a day or more.  

  Among the countries where Compassion works, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Uganda, Togo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Columbia and Ghana have been identified as experiencing increased food insecurity, though this list continues to change and grow. To identify countries most heavily impacted, we use external data sources such as Trading Economics data, Famine Early Warning Systems data and World Food Program Hunger maps.