Archive for category: Food Insecurity

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Rebuilding the Table: Fighting Food Insecurity in Peru

Food Insecurity in PeruThe COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted food security in Peru, leaving many without reliable access to nutrition. Peru ranked as one of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic. By July 2022, the country saw nearly 6,500 deaths per million people, surpassing every other country, according to the World Bank. Food insecurity following the pandemic remains a significant concern, and efforts are underway to address it.

Efforts to Combat Hunger

Initially, Peru addressed hunger through Action Against Hunger. In May 2023, 16.6 million people faced food insecurity, meaning more than half of the population could not access a healthy diet, based on the State of Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI) 2022 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In Metropolitan Lima, around 80% of families experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, as reported by Action Against Hunger. Refugees and migrants are particularly vulnerable, with nearly 894,000 individuals affected, according to a 2026 ReliefWeb situation report.

By 2025, nearly 30.5% of the population experienced moderate or severe food insecurity. They lacked reliable access to enough food, facing reduced diet quality or sometimes going without eating. Rising prices have exacerbated the situation, forcing vulnerable families to alter their consumption and eating habits, making a nutrient-adequate diet unaffordable for many. Food prices have pushed the basic food basket, a fixed list of items needed to meet a household’s nutritional requirements, to 378 soles, equivalent to about $110.

Another impact of the food crisis is that 12.1% of children under 5 experience chronic malnutrition. These children have a height substantially below what is expected for their age, caused by ongoing poor nutrition, low-quality diets or recurring illness early in life.

Community Support Initiatives

Action Against Hunger addresses urgent needs and food insecurity among both the Peruvian national and migrant populations through support for community kitchens. Food insecurity affects multiple vulnerable groups, sometimes at even higher rates.

Carmen Elizabeth Castillo began running the canteen at Casa de la Esperanza shelter during the COVID-19 emergency, when Action Against Hunger became the first organization to support her and her staff. Although the shelter had dining space, it lacked staff. Castillo, with Action Against Hunger’s support, coordinated efforts with sheltered families, expanding operations from feeding 30 people to nearly 100. Action Against Hunger also trained her in kitchen management, food handling, storage, meal planning and identifying malnutrition as well as anemia in children.

Sustainable Solutions

Peru also addressed hunger through the Arequipa Nexus Institute for Food, Energy, Water and the Environment (ANIFEWE), a multiphase initiative launched in 2018 by the National University of San Agustín de Arequipa (UNSA) and Purdue University. Now in its third phase, the initiative is funded by UNSA to address key sustainability challenges for the region. As part of the project, the joint team has evaluated community greenhouses across the High Andes of Arequipa in collaboration with partners including AgroRural, local mayors’ offices, schools and civil organizations. This work aims to strengthen household nutrition, local markets and climate-resilient food production.

Julia Bello-Bravo, an assistant professor of agricultural sciences education and communication at Purdue and a co-principal investigator on the project, found through focus groups in Madrigal, Yanque and Sibayo that smallholder farmers often view organic agriculture as an extension of traditional practices rather than modern, market-driven farming — a source of pride tied to family and community well-being. The team also visited greenhouses across urban, school and rural settings to learn what was thriving, what challenges owners faced, and how residents used extra produce, while surveying households without greenhouses to understand barriers to adoption.

Gary Burniske, assistant director for program development in International Programs in Agriculture at Purdue, said the team found everything from “flourishing spaces full of leafy greens to half-abandoned frames.” Many participants received little technical advice after construction, he said, leaving them to face water shortages, high indoor temperatures, pests and labor shortages without guidance.

The greenhouses’ impact extends beyond food. Families can eat what they grow, sell surplus at markets and improve their nutrition. The project also strengthens Purdue’s global partnerships and its leadership in sustainable agriculture, with insights from the Arequipa collaboration feeding back into campus research, teaching and extension work.

Community-Level Support

The Owen Hart Foundation (OHF), established by Martha Hart in memory of her husband, the late professional wrestler Owen Hart, is another initiative that has helped Peru address hunger during and after the pandemic. OHF partners with For The Love of Children Society (FTLOCS) to deliver COVID-19 relief food supplies to villagers in Peru, providing resources such as protective gear, food and medical supplies to help vulnerable children and families. Separately, OHF has also supported committee member Ashid Bahl’s own initiative sending aid to Afghanistan, where a COVID-19-driven hunger crisis has caused severe food shortages, through his organization, For The Love of Children Society.

These efforts in Peru have already made a significant difference in food insecurity. In 2022, Peru saw food insecurity soar to 55% of the population. According to the official joint assessment by Peru’s National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) and the United Nations (U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organization, the rate of moderate or severe food insecurity dropped to 30.5% in 2025. Action Against Hunger has helped address food insecurity to prevent anemia and malnutrition in Peru. The Arequipa Nexus Institute has focused on market-driven farming, food and nutrition research and the sustainability challenges farmers face. The Owen Hart Foundation has emphasized community-level, hands-on work and programs, including housing, scholarships and partnerships, that have helped people across Peru.

– Debra Pierre

Debra is based in Miami, FL, USA and focuses on Good News and Celebs for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Everything To Know About Hunger in Bhutan

Hunger in BhutanIn a small, remote village located in the colossal Himalayan mountains lives a Bhutanese family of four. They are looking to prepare a scrumptious dinner; however, due to the dearth of fresh, nutritious food and an unpredictable harvest, they only have a small portion of rice and a few chilis and spices to share. This is the harsh reality for many families across the seemingly serene and majestic kingdom of Bhutan.

Located in the heart of the Eastern Himalayas, this nation is celebrated by many across the planet for its grand alpine landscapes and rich Buddhist heritage. However, despite a population 10 times less than that of New York City, along with its innovative “Gross National Happiness” index, hunger in Bhutan still remains a significant issue. This is mainly due to the tremendous mountainous terrain that makes up 99% of its land, its reliance on imports for food and severe climate challenges in the region.

What Is the Problem?

In Bhutan, 86% of the population does not consume the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, while 27% of households cannot afford a diet that meets their routine nutritional needs. These issues are clearly impacting the health of women and children, especially. According to the Global Hunger Index, 44% of children under the age of five have anemia, while the Global Nutrition Report claims that this same disease afflicts around 40% of women of reproductive age.

There are a few main reasons for this hunger in Bhutan: the difficult alpine landscape of the Himalayas, the country’s significant reliance on food imports and overall extreme climate conditions. Due to the heavy mountainous terrain, less than 3% of the nation’s land is suitable for agriculture, making farms small and often inaccessible, especially for rural families. This has resulted in the kingdom importing around 50% of food from countries such as India, making it more expensive and less fresh due to longer transportation lines and external taxes. Additionally, Bhutan lies in one of the most seismically active regions of the planet, making it much more prone to extreme weather conditions. From floods and landslides to earthquakes and forest fires, the country’s natural disasters have caused much damage to the already low levels of agriculture.

Efforts To Reduce Hunger

Yet, despite all the adversities from nature, the government and external organizations have undertaken many initiatives to alleviate the problem of hunger in Bhutan.

  1. The “One Child, One Egg” Initiative: Collaborating with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the country has implemented a “One Child, One Egg” initiative in which every school-attending child will receive one free egg through locally-sourced supply chains in an effort to combat hunger. The Prime Minister officially launched the program in February of 2025 with a budget of around $2 million USD, and as of 2026, it has impacted more than 32,000 children and 343 schools.
  2. Self-Sufficiency Goals: The country aims to achieve much greater food self-sufficiency by 2029 by emphasizing local rice and vegetable production. Its main strategy is an agroecological roadmap that combines practical infrastructure enhancements with sustainable agricultural practices. This blueprint involves the improvement of irrigation systems, expansion of markets for local produce, reutilization of unused farmland and providing farmers with digital tools for weather forecasts, among many other efforts.
  3. External Efforts: Additionally, the country has welcomed and supported efforts by many organizations, such as the World Food Program, to combat malnutrition. The organization is specifically assisting the government in nutritional education within schools, supporting Bhutan’s agricultural market by boosting demand for local food and building resistance to natural disasters through better national coordination and communication.

The actions that the government and organizations took ultimately adhere to Bhutan’s “Gross National Happiness” philosophy, which prioritizes citizens’ well-being and collective happiness. Clearly, these efforts have been fruitful as stunting rates for children under the age of five have decreased more than 30% in the past 25 years.

Looking Ahead

While hunger in Bhutan has significantly improved and is clearly being prioritized by the government and nonprofits, it hasn’t disappeared. Due to the hardships nature has caused to the country’s food industry, continued investment in agriculture, nutrition and infrastructure is essential to improve its current state of food security. However, the kingdom has proven to be on the right track, and by continuing to strengthen its agricultural sector and vulnerable communities, the country can move closer and closer to eliminating hunger once and for all.

– Tanish Peddi

Tanish is based in Westford, MA, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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How El Nino Exacerbates Food Insecurity

El Nino Exacerbates Food InsecurityThere will be another El Nino this 2026/27 season. El Nino is a recurring weather pattern that changes the normal predictable seasonal rain to potential extreme and unprecedented flood or drought to the world. It exacerbates food insecurity for millions of people on every continent.

The predictions are looking more and more like this year will have an impact that the world has not seen in about 150 years. It is being called it a “super El Nino,” and some are even calling it “Monster El Nino” or “Godzilla El Nino.”

The Recent El Nino

This is a recurring weather pattern that happens frequently, every other year to seven years. The ocean temperature of the southern part of Eastern Pacific warms to redirect weather patterns around the world. Some stand out more than others, but each time it hurts everyone across the world, especially in the poorer areas. The 2024/2025 shows how El Nino exacerbates food insecurity for millions of people. It causes record heat, droughts, flooding, wildfires, among other natural disasters globally.

The UN food agency explained that El Nino exacerbates food insecurity in Africa. The 2024/25 El Nino caused the worst hunger crisis in southern Africa in decades.

The media director for the nonprofit Climate Central explained that modern technologies make predictions to know generally what is going to happen. This means the UN, local governments, and non-profits can prepare for the inevitability of food insecurity is paramount for millions of people. Climate scientists are now certain with a high probability that this year will be extreme.

Historical Comparison

The1877/78 El Nino was the last time it was as extreme as climate models. It caused famine from droughts in one area and famine from floods in others to the extent that potentially 50 million people died from El Nino and aggravated by the political conflicts and colonialism/imperialism.

One of the worst El Nino food insecurities was in the 1877/78 year cycle that impacted populations in all areas of the world. About 50 million was roughly 3% to 4% of the world’s population. In terms of today, that would be equivalent to 250 million people.

The Joint Anticipatory Action Appeal

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Food Programme (WFP) have teamed up to create the Joint Anticipatory Action Appeal. They are seeking $202 million to prepare nearly nine million people for how El Nino exacerbates food insecurity across 22 high-risk priority countries.

So far, the program is already prepared to help 1.2 million people facing food insecurity. With additional funding coming, they will be able to help more than 7.5 million people. The WFP is calculating that for every dollar they spend on preparation is a $7 savings on post-disaster work.

These are countries/regions that will have unique extreme weather disturbances from El Nino:

  •       Peru and Ecuador will have extreme rainstorms and landslides.
  •       India and Southeast Asia and island nations will have extreme droughts, agriculture failures and wildfires.
  •       Central America will have droughts and agriculture failures.
  •       Africa, depending on location, will have erratic and unpredictable rainfall or drought conditions.

Funding Recipients

Funding from the Joint Anticipatory Action Appeal will assist in anticipatory actions focused on local situations. The money is allocated for cash assistance, the supply and delivery of drought-tolerant and/or flood-resistant seeds, livestock protection, water collecting and storage systems, flood protection infrastructure, agricultural advisories and the broadcasting of early warning information.

  •       Southern Africa will receive $54 million for an estimated 2.3 million people.
  •       Eastern Africa will receive $78 million for 3.9 million people.
  •       Western Africa will get $11 million for 500,000 million people.
  •       Asia and the Pacific will obtain $25.7 million for 1 million people.
  •       Latin America and the Caribbean will receive $33 million for 1.1 million people.

Looking Ahead

The El Nino is a normal weather pattern that has been predicted as extreme this year. The predicted flooding in one region and drought in another region requires specific and unique needs for different regions of the world. The international community is hard at work to prevent a complex international food crisis.

– Jonathan Snowiss

Jonathan is based in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Everything to Know About Hunger in the DRC

Hunger in the DRCThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been facing an ongoing hunger crisis for more than 25 years. Today, the issue of hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo affects 26.5 million people, leaving them struggling to meet their basic food needs. The country has the third highest score on the Global Hunger Index, just after Somalia and South Sudan. However, there is much more information and coverage out there for those two countries.

Conflict at the Root of Food Insecurity

This is due to both the length and the nature of their famines. The DRC has been dealing with armed conflict on its eastern border since the First Congo War in 1996. This prolonged violence, which is the root cause of hunger in the DRC, is harder to cover than the relatively recent famines in Somalia and South Sudan that are perpetuated by extreme climate events.

Unfortunately, this lack of coverage does not mean the conflict or the famine has ended. Just last year, the M23 rebel group took over the eastern city of Goma, which was a vital international trade hub for the area. All this conflict has caused the displacement of 7.8 million people in the DRC, which further perpetuates issues of food security and sanitation, and helping these people has become more difficult and therefore more important than ever with the capture of Goma.

Humanitarian Response and Immediate Relief

To combat these issues, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme (WFP) are working to address the hunger crisis in the DRC. With the $10 million allocated from the DRC Humanitarian Fund, the FAO and the WFP, through their combined efforts, have provided immediate food relief or cash-based assistance to nearly 1.3 million people. This is no doubt a significant effort, but it falls dramatically short of the $214 million needed to aid the entirety of the affected Congo population.

Building Long-Term Food Security

Along with immediate relief, the two organizations have also prioritized improving the resilience and self-reliance of local communities. The nutrition problems in the area are particularly alarming, with more than 4.18 million children under five suffering from acute malnutrition. To help prevent this in the future, the WFP has set up nutrition-focused cooking classes in dozens of villages across the DRC. These lessons not only promote healthier, well-balanced diets for Congolese children, but the recipes also include only locally grown native ingredients.

Meanwhile, the FAO provides continued support to the area’s agriculture. This includes seeds, tools, livelihood inputs and cash-based assistance, which help families restore food production and reduce overall dependence on food assistance. However, it could not raise adequate funds to provide agricultural support to the entire region. The FAO urgently requires an additional $163 million to scale up its life-saving agricultural support before it misses critical planting windows.

The Funding Gap and the Path Forward

The Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to face a prolonged famine spurred by armed conflict in the region. This famine would have grown to dire proportions with the capture of Goma by M23 if not for the FAO and WFP’s efforts to combat food insecurity in the region. These organizations are committed to a dual-approach solution to the food crisis that combines immediate food relief with longer-term support to agriculture and food security. However, their plans to provide the necessary assistance and stop the famine in the area have encountered an unfortunate $214 million funding shortfall. Reducing hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will require donations and a continued commitment to both emergency relief and long-term recovery. With this, the international community can help turn today’s humanitarian crisis into lasting food security for tomorrow.

– Arda Aydogan

Arda is based in Canton, MI, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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What Leaders Are Doing To Address Extreme Poverty in Curaçao

Poverty in CuraçaoWhile Curaçao reached an athletic milestone by becoming the smallest country to compete in a FIFA World Cup, recent data has hinted at failures in other, more pressing aspects of the small island country’s society. Despite its growing tourist industry and GDP, the country is also one of the most unequal in its region, according to recent government reports and projections have determined that the situation will likely only become worse. Here is more information about poverty in Curaçao and efforts to address it.

Extreme Poverty in Curaçao Despite Growth?

While Curaçao’s economy has recovered from its COVID-era recession, with inflation peaking at 7.4% in 2022 according to its Centrale Bank, the country’s most recent GINI index of 46% reports extreme income inequality. With its booming tourist, hospitality and financial sectors dominating approximately 75% of GDP, Curaçao has seen lower unemployment rates since the COVID years due to job growth solely within its low-skilled and informal sectors.

This places Curaçao’s economy in a precarious state with more than 30.4% of households below the monetary poverty line in 2023, a 5% increase from 2011. Furthermore, a recent publication by its Central Bureau of Statistics is similarly disturbing, reporting 37.7% of the country—more than a third of all households—are vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. Thus, top leadership has recently started to meet these challenges as external events continue to have negative effects on fuel and food prices.

Response From Top Leadership

Top ministers within Curaçao’s national government have not ignored its status as an increasingly impoverished Caribbean country. In 2021, Charetti America-Francisca became the first woman to serve as the President of the Parliament of Curaçao, and has recently championed efforts to combat poverty in Curaçao through her new role as the Minister of Social Development, Labor and Welfare (SOAW). Emphasizing the government’s commitment to “working on a new approach focused on targeted and active intervention, aimed at creating lasting change rather than temporary relief,” Minister America-Fransisca stressed “the two most important pillars for combating poverty are education and work” during a parliamentary question hour.

In April, she heavily advocated for creating “an interministerial task force together with NGOs, so that the problem can be addressed in an integrated, more effective and more efficient manner.” America-Fransisca recognized varying forms of poverty citing relative, social, cultural and temporary poverty, all of which represent structural barriers apart from just financial instability that can inhibit upward mobility.

Furthermore, her recent investigation into poor working conditions in the island’s large retail industry has only furthered her experience with fighting poverty in Curaçao. In May, following reports of retail workers alleging that they are required to stand continuously for eight or more hours, she “instructed the labor inspectorate to carry out inspections and further investigations into the alleged practices.”

Looking Ahead

Curaçao is a testament to poverty’s existence as a multidimensional problem. Despite promising economic stability from its booming service industries, important voices like Minister America-Fransisca have cited the shortcomings of solely using financial measurables to understand Curaçao’s more structural issues: “A person can have an income and still be poor, can work and still be unable to make ends meet. Although we do see that the economy is partly recovering and unemployment is declining, poverty remains high.”

– Thaddaeus R. Rios

Thaddaeus is based in Washington, DC, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Everything To Know About Hunger in Chile

Hunger in ChileChile is a country in South America with a population of about 21 million. Compared to other countries in the region, hunger is not one of its major problems. It scores less than five on the Global Hunger Index. This puts it in the top 25 countries in terms of GHI. As positive as this is, this doesn’t tell everything there is to know about hunger in Chile.

Everything To Know About Hunger in Chile

Food insecurity has typically not affected Chile in the same way as it has other Latin American countries. The statistics on it can be quite misleading. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is a set of goals aimed at halving the number of people suffering from malnutrition. In 2015, it was the first country to do this, but on the flip side, 28.2 % of the country’s population still suffered from malnutrition. Even in just the last 10 years, food security has become a real issue. It affected 17.3% of the population in 2023, whereas it now affects more than three million people.

Why Has This Happened?

Hunger in Chile really comes down to two main issues, agriculture and migration.

Technology is advancing, and in most cases, these are positive steps forward. However, farmers in Chile have struggled to keep up. Statistics from the Chilean government show that indigenous agriculture and family-owned farms make up about 73% of the total agricultural units in the country. This means that they are more likely to use older and less efficient equipment than adopt modern ways of farming, which naturally has resulted in slower production.

Also, according to the Migration Policy Centre, the growing concern of climate unpredictability is causing farmers to leave rural areas for the city. These issues combined are resulting in less and less production of food for both themselves and the broader public.

Migration

The other issue affecting food security is migration. Migration has spiked in recent years in Chile, and this is causing the demographics of the country to change quite significantly. Between 2018 and 2023, there was a 47% increase in the foreign population. The vast majority of migrants are coming from other Latin American countries, mainly Venezuela (38%), amongst others. Migrants are an at–risk group, and food insecurity usually disproportionately affects them. In particular, migrant women often find it harder to afford a place to live, especially with the current high cost of living in Chile. This, paired with their finding it harder to access the necessary support networks, means migrant women are at a higher risk of suffering malnutrition.

Solutions

Unfortunately, the issue of migration continues to cause real concern regarding food security, especially for the migrants themselves. In regard to farming, the Chilean government has been stepping up to help alleviate some of its agricultural issues. In January 2024, it invested $50 million in a project with specific goals set out to tackle its food security concerns.

The first is to modernize Chilean farms and farmers themselves. The government set out to educate farmers through digital means, while also helping to monitor progress on farms through technological advancement.

As part of the investment plan, new technology is now also helping to prevent diseases and pests from harming the land and livestock.

As mentioned previously, the climate is a major concern for farmers, whether it be to continue to grow food or just to simply live in that area and not have to migrate to the city. This is why, as part of this investment, risk management has become a major factor. The government expanded the coverage of the Red Agroclimatologica Nacional (RAN), which is the National Agro – Meteorological Network of Chile.

It is not only the government that is helping to slow down the rate of food insecurity. An NGO called Fundacion Social Amar Das is a Chilean-based nonprofit, started in 2019, that sets out to “support the hope of the hopeless in Chile,” as its website says. GlobalGiving has vetted it and recognizes it, and volunteers who deliver food directly to people who are often homeless run it. Through donations, it is actively improving the lives of many.

Looking Ahead

The goals that the government set out are now slowly changing the path on which Chile was headed concerning food security. Chile is becoming more proactive, rather than reactive, in regard its farming policies. There is still much work that the country needs to do, but as these plans take shape, the Chilean people, especially the migrant population, have hope for a more secure and prosperous future.

 – Oisin Downes

Oisin is based in Galway, Ireland and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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How South Korea’s Rice Donation Is Supporting Families in Syria

South Korea's Rice DonationSouth Korea has donated 2,400 tons of rice to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support food-insecure families in Syria. The contribution comes as humanitarian agencies continue responding to widespread hunger and economic hardship across the country. Through WFP distribution programs, the rice will help provide meals and nutritional support to vulnerable households, including displaced families and communities struggling with rising food prices.

WFP officials said the donation will strengthen ongoing food assistance operations in Syria, where many households remain dependent on humanitarian aid for daily meals. The partnership also reflects growing international cooperation aimed at addressing hunger in conflict-affected regions.

Why Food Insecurity Remains a Crisis in Syria

Syria continues to face one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies. More than a decade of conflict has damaged infrastructure, disrupted agricultural production and weakened the country’s economy. These challenges have made it harder for families to access affordable food, stable employment and essential public services.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that more than 15 million Syrians still require humanitarian assistance, including food aid, health care and shelter support. Economic instability and inflation have further increased pressure on households already dealing with displacement and poverty.

WFP has also warned that food insecurity remains widespread across Syria, with many families reducing meal sizes or skipping meals entirely due to high food costs. Humanitarian agencies say vulnerable households are often forced to make difficult financial choices between food, medicine and other necessities. Despite these ongoing challenges, international food assistance programs continue providing support to communities facing the greatest need.

How the Rice Donation Will Support Families

South Korea’s rice donation will be distributed through the WFP-established humanitarian network inside Syria. WFP operates large-scale food assistance programs designed to reach communities affected by poverty, displacement and supply shortages. Using existing distribution systems enables aid organizations to deliver support to vulnerable populations more efficiently.

Humanitarian experts say staple foods such as rice are especially valuable during emergencies because they provide reliable nutrition and can support families when local markets become unstable or unaffordable. Food assistance programs also help reduce immediate pressure on households struggling to secure regular meals. For many Syrian families, receiving food aid can also create financial breathing room. 

When households spend less on food, they may be able to redirect their limited income toward school expenses, transportation, medical costs or housing costs. Relief organizations say this type of support can help families maintain stability during prolonged crises. Humanitarian assistance programs are also important for protecting children and vulnerable populations from worsening malnutrition and poverty.

Supporting Long-Term Recovery Efforts

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that Syria’s agricultural sector continues to face major setbacks, including damaged irrigation systems, shortages of farming supplies and reduced crop production. These conditions have slowed local recovery efforts and increased dependence on international humanitarian assistance. Food aid alone cannot fully resolve Syria’s economic and humanitarian challenges, but it can help stabilize communities while recovery efforts continue.

Humanitarian organizations say emergency food support works best when combined with programs focused on rebuilding agriculture, restoring livelihoods and improving local food production.

Global Cooperation Remains Essential

South Korea’s rice donation to Syria reflects the broader role international partnerships play in addressing global hunger. Organizations such as WFP rely heavily on support from governments and humanitarian donors to maintain food assistance operations in crisis-affected regions. As humanitarian needs persist across Syria, global cooperation remains essential to help relief agencies deliver consistent support to vulnerable communities. 

Aid officials say donations like this provide practical, immediate assistance while helping families navigate difficult economic conditions and ongoing uncertainty.

They also emphasize that continued international support can help prevent worsening food insecurity in already fragile communities. Reliable food assistance programs provide families with regular meals while enabling humanitarian organizations to respond more quickly during emergencies. 

In Syria, where many households continue rebuilding after years of instability, international aid remains an important source of relief and support for millions of people facing daily economic challenges.

– Angela “Phoenix” Garrett

Angela is based in Chicago, IL, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Picryl

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Everything To Know About Hunger in Jordan

Hunger in JordanFor thousands of families across Jordan, putting food on the table has become an increasing daily struggle. Rising food prices and economic hardship continue to push vulnerable communities toward food insecurity as inflation and regional instability place pressure across the country. While Jordan has made progress in education and health care hunger remains a serious challenge for low-income families, refugees and children. Everything to know about hunger in Jordan begins with understanding how economic hardship and displacement continue to increase demand for humanitarian aid across the country.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), nearly 3 million people in Jordan have required humanitarian assistance since 2024. The country also hosts the second-largest number of refugees per capita worldwide. According to the WFP, around 77% of these refugees face food insecurity in Jordan. Refugees from Syria, Iraq and Palestine continue to increase pressure on food systems and public services. Rising food prices have also made basic necessities harder to afford for Jordanian families living below the poverty line.

Why Hunger in Jordan Continues

Several economic and environmental factors contribute to rising hunger in Jordan. Jordan ranks among the world’s most water-scarce countries in the world which limits agricultural production and increases dependence on imported food. The World Bank reported that food inflation and unemployment have especially affected young people and low-income households in recent years.

The Syrian refugee population in Jordan especially faces severe food insecurity. Jordan hosts more than 427,000 registered Syrian refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Many refugee families struggle to secure stable employment and thus rely on food aid to survive.

Organizations Fighting Hunger on The Ground

Several organizations continue to address hunger in Jordan through food assistance and development programs. The WFP launched one of the country’s largest food assistance programs providing monthly cash-based food support to vulnerable Jordanians and refugees. In 2023 alone the organization assisted more than 1.7 million people in Jordan.

The Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization also works with local and international partners to distribute food parcels and emergency aid across the country. During Ramadan campaigns and emergency response efforts, the organization reaches thousands of families facing food insecurity.

Tikeyet Um Ali has become one of Jordan’s leading anti-hunger nonprofit organizations. Since its founding in 2003, the organization has provided sustainable monthly food support to thousands of families living in extreme poverty. Tikeyet Um Ali also runs awareness campaigns and community programs aimed at reducing hunger nationwide. Everything to know about hunger in Jordan especially includes recognizing the role local nonprofits play in creating long-term support systems for vulnerable families.

Looking Ahead

Although hunger in Jordan remains a major issue humanitarian organizations and local initiatives continue to provide critical support for vulnerable communities. These organizations continue expanding programs that provide emergency meals, nutritional support and financial assistance to vulnerable individuals and unemployed households across Jordan. Increased international aid, stronger economic opportunities and sustainable food programs could help reduce food insecurity in the years ahead. Everything to know about hunger in Jordan points toward one reality: long-term investment and community-based solutions remain essential in the fight against hunger.

– Masa Qasim

Masa is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius

SDG 14 in MauritiusMauritius has an Exclusive Economic Zone of approximately 2.3 million square kilometers, one of the largest maritime territories of any small island state on earth. According to the United Nations, that vast ocean space represents one of the country’s greatest untapped opportunities for food security and poverty reduction. And yet, as the U.N. Development Programme has documented, rising food prices and growing import dependence continue to place significant financial pressure on ordinary Mauritian households.

Updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius sit at the center of that contradiction. Sustainable Development Goal 14, Life Below Water, is not simply an environmental target for the island nation. The U.N. frames it as a direct pathway to economic resilience, local food production and poverty reduction for a country whose ocean territory dwarfs its landmass many times over.

Poverty and Food Insecurity

While extreme poverty remains low in Mauritius, vulnerability remains an important issue in the context of rising food prices and import dependence. According to the IMF, the national relative poverty rate fell to 7.3% in 2023, while the Sustainable Development Report 2025 places the poverty headcount ratio at 0.8% at $2.15 per day and 1.3% at $3.65 per day. At the same time, food insecurity indicators remain concerning: the prevalence of undernourishment was 5.9% in 2022, and other estimates place it as high as 8.7%. These figures are especially significant in a country where rising food prices and seafood affordability continue to place pressure on lower-income households.

Recent estimates indicate that roughly 8.7% of the Mauritian population is undernourished. For a middle-income island economy surrounded by one of the world’s most productive ocean territories, that figure reflects a structural gap rather than a resource one. The food is not absent. The systems to make it accessible and affordable are what need work.

An Island That Imports What Its Ocean Could Provide

As a Small Island Developing State, Mauritius depends heavily on external markets for food supply. The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) notes that this dependence makes the country particularly vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions, imported inflation and geopolitical instability, forces that Mauritian households have little power to control and even less capacity to absorb.

Fish illustrates the problem clearly. Once one of the most accessible protein sources for Mauritian households, seafood has become noticeably more expensive in recent years. Official food security data show that the price of frozen fish peaked at Rs 327 in February 2023 and remained high at Rs 321 in May 2024. For lower-income families, this price pressure has narrowed dietary choices and deepened food inequality, despite the island being surrounded by vast marine resources that remain underutilized.

The Delivery Gap

Mauritius has made genuine legislative progress aligned with SDG 14 objectives. Two pieces of that framework are worth examining in detail because they illustrate both how far the country has come and how much distance remains.

Mauritius’s environmental governance framework is primarily anchored in the Environment Protection Act 2002, later strengthened through amendments in 2008, which extends environmental stewardship and pollution-control standards across the island’s coastal and marine zones. According to the Nairobi Convention’s country profile on Mauritius, the Act establishes environmental impact assessment requirements for coastal development projects, a mechanism designed to reduce shoreline degradation and protect marine biodiversity and fishing stocks over time.

The Integrated Coastal Zone Management framework provides the institutional structure for coordinating the management of Mauritius’s lagoons, coral reefs and coastal ecosystems across multiple government agencies. According to the Nairobi Convention’s Mauritius country profile and related regional assessments, it has supported beach rehabilitation, habitat mapping, water-quality monitoring and coral reef restoration. While the policy framework is clearly in place, implementation and ecological outcomes continue to vary across coastal zones, reflecting the long-term nature of restoration and the uneven pressures faced by different parts of the island.

The Data Behind the Urgency

The Sustainable Development Report 2025 places Mauritius 76th out of 167 countries with an overall SDG score of 70.3, a performance that reflects moderate progress on some goals and persistent challenges on others. SDG 14 sits firmly in the second category.

According to the SDG Index Dashboard for Mauritius, only 11.1% of marine sites important to biodiversity were protected in 2023. The same dataset recorded an Ocean Health Index clean water score of 68.7 in 2024, pointing to ongoing environmental pressures on the island’s marine ecosystem. Most strikingly, 71.9% of fish caught came from overexploited or collapsed stocks, a figure that directly links marine degradation to food security, livelihoods and poverty reduction, rather than framing it solely as an environmental issue.

When nearly three-quarters of the national fish catch draws from stocks already under severe pressure, updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius become less about environmental reporting and more about understanding a food security risk that is actively developing.

An Organization Closing the Gap

The Indian Ocean Commission’s SmartFish Programme offers a concrete example of what meaningful SDG 14 implementation can look like in practice. Launched in 2011, the regional initiative operates across Indian Ocean island states, including Mauritius, with a focus on strengthening fisheries governance, improving market access for small-scale fishers and building the data systems needed to monitor fish stock health over time. In doing so, it connects marine sustainability directly to livelihoods, food security and poverty reduction.

According to regional fisheries governance sources, SmartFish supports fishermen, coastal communities and food security outcomes across the region. For Mauritius, this helps transform marine resources into systems that support local food production, employment and poverty reduction.

Beyond institutional programs, the blue economy offers significant potential through aquaculture, algae cultivation, oyster farming and marine-based small enterprises. World Bank assessments identify these sectors as drivers of employment, lower seafood import dependence and improved food affordability.

What the Numbers Mean for the People

Updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius ultimately tell a story about the distance between a country’s resources and its population’s access to them. According to the SDG Index Dashboard, 71.9% of fish catch is linked to overexploited or collapsed stocks. That figure is not an abstraction, it is a timeline. Every year, that number holds or worsens, the foundation for domestic food production, fishing livelihoods and food affordability erodes a little further.

The U.N. SDG framework, regional fisheries programs such as SmartFish and Mauritius’s own legislative infrastructure all point in the same direction. Deeper investment in sustainable fisheries, aquaculture and marine-based enterprise, combined with stronger implementation of existing policy, represents one of the most direct paths available to Mauritius for narrowing the gap between its ocean wealth and persistent food vulnerability among lower-income households. The challenge now is turning existing frameworks into measurable results.

– Aditya-R Nowbuth

Adutya-Raj is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

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Food Insecurity in Nigeria and Okra’s Value

Food Insecurity in NigeriaFood insecurity in Nigeria affects an estimated 35 million people, including 17 million children facing malnutrition. This marks one of the most severe hunger crises in Africa and places Nigeria among the countries with the highest global burden of hunger. Political conflict and climate-related shocks, including drought, have only exacerbated the crisis, making it difficult to cultivate certain foods.

Okra

One food that is heavily relied on in Nigeria is okra. Sometimes called “lady’s finger,” it is native to Africa and is used in many Nigerian cultural dishes. “Of what I have seen in West Africa, okra is most commonly found in the home garden or closer horticultural patches that are managed rather than large-scale cereal production systems, though it can be intercropped,” says Laurajean Lewis, the global director of genetic resources at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico, in an interview with The Borgen Project.

“Okra is not a cereal. It is typically eaten green and you are generally harvesting the seed pods. Sometimes they are cut up and dried, then reconstituted later. They’re from the same plant family as hibiscus, just different species. The flowers of okra are harvested for tea,” Lewis shared.

How Better Okra Breeding Could Boost Nigerian Farmers

The African Vegetable Breeding Consortium (AVBC) is working with farmers in West Africa to explore how okra can be better positioned for the market. Okra is already highly valued in West African markets for its role in regional cuisine, but expanding its potential could increase its global appeal. The AVBC also supports vegetable breeding and crossbreeding different okra varieties could further strengthen the crop’s market potential.

Despite serving as an important source of nutrition for many people, okra has far less monetary value than traditional cash crops such as corn, rice and wheat. However, some scientists are working to improve okra’s marketability by focusing on one of its most distinctive traits: its sliminess. When cooked, okra produces mucilage, which is made primarily of pectin, a substance found in the cell walls of fruits and vegetables. 

Pectin is commonly used as a thickener and stabilizer in food processing, as well as a dissolvable additive in pharmaceuticals that target the colon. Globally, pectin is highly valuable and is typically extracted from citrus peels such as oranges and lemons. Researchers suggest that okra could serve as an alternative source of pectin, particularly in West Africa, where it is widely grown and used. 

This could be especially relevant for regional chocolate production, as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire produce more than half of the world’s cocoa. Reducing reliance on imported pectin could help lower costs and improve supply efficiency for manufacturers in the region.

Final Remarks

Food insecurity in Nigeria remains a persistent challenge. However, with support from AVBC, okra has the potential to evolve from a subsistence crop into a viable cash crop that can support local farmers.

– Eddie Hofmann

Eddie is based in Seattle, WA, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels