World hunger is accelerating at a devastating rate
Millions of people are facing the worst hunger crisis the world has seen in decades. Roughly one in 11 people go to bed hungry every night because of the impact of conflict, climate change, poverty and food insecurity.
For those living in the world’s poorest places, the inability to access, grow, or afford food has trapped them in a deadly cycle.
We believe that every person has the right to survive and thrive, free from poverty. Yet still too many lives are marked by a daily struggle for basic needs and rights. A better world is possible.
Act against hunger today
How serious is the problem?
World hunger is on the rise for the first time in decades. In 2015, many of the world’s greatest powers committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030, yet recent reports have called the goal “tragically distant”.
people are facing hunger around the world
of those suffering from chronic hunger are women and girls
of all child deaths worldwide are from causes related to hunger and malnutrition
We don’t just feed families; we nourish communities.
SCIAF is already working in many of the world’s poorest countries to tackle both the causes and consequences of hunger. We work with people in the hardest circumstances so they can overcome their daily struggles and the structures of injustice that make and keep them poor. This includes issues relating to:
- Climate change: Extreme weather like droughts and floods is becoming more frequent, destroying harvests and ruining fertile land.
- Conflict: War and instability force families to abandon their farms and flee their homes, cutting off their access to food and income.
- Poverty: Many families are trapped in a cycle of poverty where they cannot afford the seeds, tools, or land needed to grow their own food.
For decades, we’ve walked with people whose entire livelihood can wither in a drought or wash away in a flood.
Our local partners not only work with communities to meet their most pressing needs today but also build their resilience so they can provide for themselves and their families in the future.
1.
Immediate access to life-saving food and financial support
When a crisis hits, we ensure families have food to eat and the money they need to survive.
2.
Access to the seeds, tools and training needed to grow food that’s resistant to a changing climate
We’re helping families to grow food, whatever the weather. We work with them to establish vegetable gardens, providing drought resistant seeds, helping to diversify what they grow and how they farm, and installing solutions like solar irrigation pumps to water crops when drought hits. At the same time, we’re working to address gender inequality in families, so that the benefits can be equally felt by all family members.
3.
Providing the support needed to increase income, save money and provide a secure future
By working with communities to set up savings and loans groups, providing training and support on growing a business and diversifying their income, we’re helping families to create a livelihood to support themselves long into the future.
Act against hunger today
Kabika's story, Zambia
“We used to eat once a day. We grew cereal crops but other crops didn’t adapt in the area. I used to sleep on an empty stomach. It was painful – my heart was bleeding. I couldn’t feed my children. Things were very tough.
“But now thanks to SCIAF I now have a kitchen garden, I grow vegetables using organic fertiliser that I make myself. Chemical fertiliser was too expensive, we couldn’t afford it, but now we can grow using organic fertiliser. I also make green charcoal and sell them for a profit. This has changed everything for us.
"God has answered my prayers.”
SCIAF works in a range of countries across the world to create change that lasts a lifetime.
Read and download SCIAF resources which focus on the topic of Hunger.
Find out more about about our work around the world.