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9 World hunger solutions to get us to 2030
Apr 25, 2022
Contents . Click to expand section.
The global hunger crisis has only gotten larger since COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean we can’t solve it.
A combination of conflict, the climate crisis, and the ripple effects of COVID-19 have left the world losing progress in the fight for Zero Hunger . But that doesn't mean that all hope is lost. Some are relatively simple, short-term solutions. Others are more complex, requiring lasting change and commitment at the international level. But it's a cause worth fighting for. Here are nine world hunger solutions that are guiding Concern's work in 25 countries around the globe.
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1. embrace climate smart agriculture.
Climate change and hunger exist in a vicious cycle. More frequent and longer-lasting periods of extreme temperatures, flood events, and dry spells leave many families — especially those who work in agriculture — unable to put food on the table. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is a broad term that encompasses a number of practices. But all of these solutions allow farmers to adapt and become more resilient against an unpredictable climate.
These practices include diversifying crop varieties, conservation agriculture, and low-water sack gardens. Time and again, we’ve seen families benefit both nutritionally and financially from these solutions.
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2. Respond to the refugee crisis
Forced migration is a key cause of hunger, and we are currently in the middle of an unprecedented global refugee crisis . This is also true for other forms of displacement. Refugees and IDPs are some of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to hunger. So are their host communities , whose resources are often very thinly spread.
Much of the work to stop conflict needs to take place on a government and policy level, but one way Concern can help is through programs that facilitate new ways to generate income. For example, Syrian refugee women and their Lebanese neighbors have learned to make staples like cheese and yogurt, as well as how to sell them at market for a profit. For those who wish to return home to Syria , this will also be an essential skill to have when the country eventually rebuilds its infrastructure.
3. Advocate for gender equality
Gender equality is another key solution to world hunger, especially in two key areas: agriculture and maternal and child health .
Women make up approximately half of the agricultural workforce in many of the countries where Concern works, and data from the Food and Agriculture Organization suggest that giving female farmers equal access to resources as their male counterparts could increase production on their farms by 20-30%. This could in turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world by up to 150 million.
Hunger affects maternal health , making female nutrition essential to ending hunger. According to the World Food Programme, women are more likely than men to go hungry in nearly two-thirds of the world’s countries. By prioritizing women’s health and nutrition, we can prevent not only health complications for them if and when they have children, but also for the children they bear. This begins with puberty and continues through pregnancy, breastfeeding, and on through healthy habits that children can maintain for the rest of their lives.
4. Reduce food waste
Currently, one-third of all food produced is wasted — that's over 1.3 billion tons. Producing this wasted food also wastes other natural resources. It requires an amount of water equal to the annual flow of Russia’s Volga River, and creates 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases.
Ending food waste would be a radical shift, but it’s one that you can be a part of by simply reducing your own food waste. It’s especially important in countries like the United States (which contribute more to climate change but feel the effects less than more vulnerable countries) to take these steps towards climate justice . You can also ask your representatives to commit to policies that reduce waste and better the whole food system .
5. Invest in disaster risk reduction
Investing in disaster risk reduction — especially in vulnerable communities — mitigates potential losses in the wake of disasters for those who stand to lose the most. Most of the people with whom we work are involved in subsistence agriculture, meaning that they grow what they eat. For many, their harvests are never enough, and the prospect of losing what they do grow is the very definition of disaster. Simple techniques to protect and diversify crops can be very effective. Protecting the homestead and livestock is important too; losing vital shelter and assets can quickly lead to hunger.
6. Support hygiene and sanitation
Sometimes, people (especially children) eat enough. But if they live in an area with insufficient sanitation or poor hygiene practices, they may be susceptible to diarrhea or other waterborne illnesses that prevent them from absorbing those nutrients. Making sure that drinking and washing water are uncontaminated can save a life — in more ways than one.
7. Control infestations and crop infections
It's not just drought and flood that we have to worry about. Crops may also be decimated by pest or fungus invasions. When we entered this decade, eastern Africa (including Kenya , Ethiopia , Somalia , and South Sudan ) faced an unprecedented locust crisis , the effects of which are still being felt. Some locust swarms were as large as 25 miles in diameter and moved on to invade central Africa and even parts of West Asia including Yemen, Iraq , and Iran. Over 13 million people were estimated to have gone hungry as a result.
In these extreme cases, aerial spray is the only way to effectively curb swarms. But other agricultural practices can confront smaller-scale invasions or deadly funguses that can also destroy crops and raise food prices. Disaster preparedness goes a long way here, too, as cash transfers , new seeds, and supplies can offset these losses.
8. Enhance crops with biofortification
With limited resources (including land, labor, and finances), the poorest farmers tend to focus on growing a limited number of crops such as maize , rice, pearl millet, beans, and sweet potatoes. This means that they often lose out on food rich in micronutrients like Vitamin A and iron. This can lead to significant micronutrient deficiencies that can leave lifelong impacts on young children.
Though Concern works with farming communities and households to diversify their crop production, we also promote the use of biofortified crops, including iron-enriched beans and pearl millet, as well as sweet potatoes (which are higher in Vitamin A). All of the biofortified crops that Concern promotes are the result of conventional breeding in the countries where they are being promoted. These crops allow families to greatly increase their intake of those critical micronutrients in the short-term. They can also be saved by farmers for subsequent replanting without loss of the biofortified traits.
9. Improving Food Storage Systems
What if you have plenty of food, but lack the storage solutions to make it last? This is another problem that, when solved, can make a big difference in closing the hunger gap. Sometimes this requires big interventions, like building or rehabilitating grain stores. Other times, this is a change that can happen at the household level.
One innovation Concern has introduced into women’s self-help groups around the world are solar dryers. Sun-drying vegetables, a traditional practice, preserves micronutrients and prolongs shelf lives. Solar dryers, which operate by (you guessed it) exposure to sunlight are eco-friendly devices that accelerate this process, while also reducing contamination and minimizing nutrient loss.
How to solve world hunger: Concern's approach
The majority of people Concern works with are involved in some way with farming and food production. Many of these communities are also on the frontlines of climate change. We work with rural communities to promote Climate Smart Agriculture, an approach that helps families adapt to better crops, growing techniques, and soil improvement practices in response to the changing — and often unpredictable — environment. We also work to strengthen links with the private sector to facilitate access to supplies and equipment.
We combine this with our award-winning and standard-setting program, Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) , which has saved millions of lives over the past 20 years. We’ve continued to work with partners and communities to find more tailored approaches to community-based treatment of childhood malnutrition, which has led to CMAM Surge: a way of proactively responding to malnutrition during seasonal “surge” periods throughout the year. Two CMAM Surge pilot tests in Kenya in 2012 saw that the model managed peaks, without undermining other health and nutrition efforts.
Supporting Concern means that $0.93 of every dollar donated goes to our life-saving work in 25 countries around the world. Last year, we were able to reach over 11.4 million people with our health and nutrition initiatives.
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How to End World Hunger: 6 Solutions for Zero Hunger
We are at the crossroads of one of the greatest challenges of our time: How do we end world hunger? There are 828 million hungry people in the world, including 349 million people facing severe hunger. While this is the largest global food crisis in modern history, we have the solutions for a zero hunger world.
In 2012, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Zero Hunger challenge as the U.N. plan to end world hunger. The challenge reflects five elements from within the Sustainable Development Goals which taken together can end hunger. These Zero Hunger solutions can massively transform agriculture and food systems. In addition to these five solutions, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) knows the majority of the world’s hungriest people live in conflict-affected areas. For this reason, we include a sixth Zero Hunger solution: break the cycle of conflict and hunger.
Here is how the U.N. World Food Programme works tirelessly to execute these solutions and end world hunger.
1. Break the Cycle of Conflict and Hunger
With almost 60% of the world’s hungriest people living in conflict affected zones , conflict is the greatest challenge to Zero Hunger .
Conflict and hunger create a vicious cycle. When war erupts, instability forces people to find illicit and sometimes violent means of acquiring their necessities. In this unstable period where access to food is fought over, the risk of social unrest heightens.
The U.N. World Food Programme is on the frontlines of the world’s worst conflicts, going where others can’t to deliver lifesaving food in the hardest-to-reach areas. The agency’s work to solve hunger has contributed to improving prospects for peace – effectively breaking the conflict and hunger cycle. In conflict zones, the U.N. World Food Programme is there to provide food and cash assistance, keep kids in classrooms with school meals and rebuild infrastructure through community projects.
In 2020, the U.N. World Food Programme became the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and was recognized by the Nobel Committee “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.” The U.N. World Food Programme’s Nobel Peace Prize is a powerful call to action, recognizing the important link between conflict and hunger and the critical role of food assistance as a building block to peace and stability.
How Conflict Drives Hunger
2. increase sustainability and build resilience to climate change.
Climate extremes are one of the main drivers of severe hunger . We have entered a ‘new normal’ where consecutive and extreme weather events – like droughts, flooding, hurricanes and cyclones – decimate farming and drive displacement. As a result, communities constantly operate in recovery mode: Diminished economies, destroyed infrastructure and disrupted access to food significantly reduce people’s capacity to rebuild their livelihoods and prepare for the next imminent disaster.
The U.N. World Food Programme helps communities build resilience to climate change through long-term solutions including:
- Reforestation and land rehabilitation projects
- Climate insurance for small-scale farmers
- Providing local institutions with access to sustainable energy solutions
To tackle the challenges of climate change, food availability and food access, we must also help farmers grow a more diverse range of crops and livestock. That’s why the U.N. World Food Programme teaches farmers new techniques, equips them with tools and educates their communities about the nutritional importance of eating a wide range of foods.
3. Address Poverty & Inequality Through Social Safety Nets
Poverty and inequality are the root causes of global hunger. Imagine being a mother who must forgo her daily meals to feed her children, or a farmer who must sell food rations in exchange for farming equipment.
The U.N. World Food Programme helps governments strengthen national safety nets that safeguard their citizens from poverty, inequality and hunger. By 2030, the U.N. World Food Programme aims to substantially increase people’s access to their national social protection systems – thereby promoting equitable economic growth.
The U.N. World Food Programme is the world’s largest provider of humanitarian cash, distributing cash to over 40 million people across 70 countries . The global food crisis is mainly one of access where record-high prices mean people cannot buy what they need. Where markets are functioning, the U.N. World Food Programme can provide cash-based assistance in the form of bank notes, vouchers, debit cards, e-money or mobile money. Cash transfers empower families to decide how to spend their money while supporting local markets and economies.
Through Food for Assets projects, the U.N. World Food Programme offers food or cash assistance while participants work on community assets like roads, dams and irrigation systems. The community-centered approach of coming together to reinvigorate participants’ environment has extra benefits like promoting nutrition, gender equality and social protection. For example, in Mozambique, the Food For Assets program provides female farmers with opportunities to test out innovative farming techniques designed to build their harvests’ resilience to climate change. Participants may also receive agricultural training, which boosts their income and access to food.
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4. help rural farmers connect to markets.
One of the cruelest ironies of hunger is its disproportionate impact on small-scale farmers—the very people who grow food for a living. Small-scale farmers make up the majority of people living in poverty. Their economic losses come from lack of access to production inputs like proper storage, fertilizer and farming equipment as well as constant challenges from climate extremes.
The U.N. World Food Programme works to connect small-scale farmers to local economies while providing them with the resources to improve production, reduce their post-harvest losses, develop business skills and gain access to financial tools.
In over 40 countries the U.N. World Food Programme connects small-scale farmers to markets so that they can supply their own communities with lifesaving food. The program Purchase for Progress (P4P) partners farmers with the private sector, encouraging investments that diversify their crops and expand their business prospects.
5. Reduce Food Waste & Food Loss
The world produces more than enough food to feed everyone, and yet 828 million people still go to bed hungry each night. In high-income countries, 40% of food is wasted because people buy more food than they can consume. In low-income countries, where the vast majority of the world’s hungriest people live, most food loss occurs during the early stages of growth, harvest and storage.
The U.N. World Food Programme is working to eliminate food loss and waste by:
- Providing farmers with modern storage equipment like silos and air-tight bags
- Offering long-lasting foods like flour, dried beans and salt – all properly packaged in sturdy containers
- Investing in innovations like hydroponics that allow communities to grow, sell and store food in the harshest conditions
- Selling and storing food in impossible places due to exposure of extreme temperatures, excess dust and general pollution
- Advocating for policy that distributes American-grown crops to people in need – like the U.S. Farm Bill which supplies the U.N. World Food Programme with U.S. agricultural commodities like rice, corn, wheat and soybeans for people abroad
6. Eliminate Malnutrition in Mothers & Children
45% of deaths among children under age 5 are caused by malnutrition. The first two years of a baby’s life are critical when it comes to receiving the nourishment they need to grow into a healthy adult. From Fortified Blended Foods to High Energy Biscuits, the U.N. World Food Programme ensures millions of children and pregnant and nursing women have access to specialized nutritious food. Last year, the U.N. World Food Programme reached more than 17 million mothers and children with programs to prevent and treat malnutrition.
What You Can Do to End World Hunger
Zero Hunger may seem like an impossible goal, but through these six solutions we can make this dream a reality. The U.N. World Food Programme plays a vital role in that work by:
- Ensuring people in conflict-affected areas will not have food weaponized against them
- Anticipating, responding to and building resilience against the shocks and stresses of climate extremes
- Leveraging social safety nets, cash assistance and infrastructure to financially empower communities and local markets
- Connecting small-scale farmers with the tools they need to maintain sustainable agriculture for their country’s food security
- Making sure that the ample food that is grown across the world does not go to waste due to improper management or redistribution
- Protecting groups affected by or at risk of malnutrition (primarily mothers and children) by supplying them with specialized nutritious foods
You also play a vital role in ending world hunger. There are a lot of ways you can be part of creating a Zero Hunger world like playing the Freerice game, signing advocacy petitions or starting a fundraising campaign. Discover how you can be part of the solution for global hunger.
Unless action is taken now, millions of people have the potential to fall into deeper levels of hunger. We can respond to this global emergency by addressing hunger at its root causes. We all have an obligation to build a future that better serves our planet and all the people that live on it.
Donate to End World Hunger
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Home / Essay Samples / Social Issues / Hunger / World Hunger: The Problem And Solution
World Hunger: The Problem And Solution
- Category: Social Issues
- Topic: Food Shortage , Hunger
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- World Hunger: Key Facts and Statistics. (2019, June 26). Retrieved from https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/world-hunger-facts-statistics on June 28, 2019
- Quick facts: What you need to know about global hunger. (2019, May 13). Retrieved from https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-global-hunger on June 28, 2019
- Lake, R. (n.d.). World Hunger Statistics: 23 Thought-Provoking Facts. Retrieved from https://www.creditdonkey.com/world-hunger-statistics.html on June 29, 2019
- The world's ten hungriest countries. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.concernusa.org/story/worlds-ten-hungriest-countries/ on June 29, 2019
- Central African Republic | Hunger Relief in Africa. (2019, June 26). Retrieved from https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/africa/central-african-republic on June 30, 2019
- Chad | Hunger Relief in Africa. (2019, June 26). Retrieved from https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/africa/chad on June 30, 2019
- Yemen | Hunger Relief in Middle East. (2019, June 26). Retrieved from https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/middle-east/yemen on June 30, 2019
- 25 Organizations Dedicated to Fight Hunger. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.raptim.org/25-organizations-dedicated-to-fight-hunger/ on June 30, 2019
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