Tag: ACF

Ethiopia’s Decades-Long Malnutrition Crises

June 16,2026      In Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country, roughly one in eight Ethiopians suffer food shortages in mid-2026 in many region-specific overlapping crises caused by fighting, drought, population displacements, refugees, sky-high prices, and sudden cuts in international aid.

A 2026 humanitarian analysis citing FEWS NET projected about 15. to 16 million Ethiopians in acute food insecurity, with IPC Phase 3 Crisis and Phase 4 Emergency conditions expected in parts of the country by this coming July 2026.  Large parts of eastern and southern Ethiopia are at “Crisis” level, meaning families are skipping meals, selling their animals, and running out of options. Some pockets near Harar, Dire Dawa, and the lowlands of East Hararghe in the east are Emergency level. Conflict-hit areas in Amhara and Tigray are also food insecure.

Children suffer most. Many are “wasted” (too thin for their height), which weakens their immune systems and can cause lifelong problems. In treatment centers in Gambella, the death rate for severely malnourished children reached 3.2%. . Similar death rates appear in Benishangul-Gumuz (2.7%) and South Ethiopia (2.8%). These are regions with almost no aid organizations working on nutrition, even though the need is urgent.

Tigray has repeatedly been a particular famine zone. SMART surveys and rapid nutrition assessments in Tigray and Amhara found child acute malnutrition above 15%, and 20% in four Tigray woredas.  From 2020 to 2022, a war between the government of Ethiopia and Tigray created a humanitarian crisis in Tigray.   Nutrition reporting from Tigray during the war was sparse.  Estimates of famine and civilian deaths during the war range from 96,000 to 378,000.

Causes for Ethiopia’s food crisis today:

  1. Conflict and displacement Fighting in Amhara, parts of Oromia (especially Wellega zones), and earlier wars in Tigray have forced more than 1.5 million people from their homes in Amhara and Afar alone. When people flee, they lose their farms, livestock, and access to clinics. Many health centers were looted or destroyed, so children cannot be screened or treated for malnutrition.
  2. Drought and climate shocks Pastoral communities in the Somali region (especially Doolo and Korahe zones), Afar, and South Ethiopia have suffered years of failed rains. Herders lose their animals — their main source of food and income. Some areas also face floods that destroy crops. These zones are often remote and “data-dark,” meaning they have not been properly surveyed recently, so the true scale of suffering is hidden.
  3. Aid cuts and supply breaks In 2023 a major scandal over stolen food aid led to a nationwide pause in deliveries. In 2025, big funding cuts (especially from the United States) caused the main program that feeds moderately malnourished children to stop across the entire country. Special peanut-paste treatment for severely malnourished kids also ran short. Refugee camps in Gambella region saw nutrition services shut down in several camps.

Foreign Assistance

Over the last fourty years, Ethiopia has received more food aid than any other country, around $20 billion worth, about half of it from the United States.  Most of the food aid has been to avert malnutrition among children or respond to famine.  Food aid was interrupted in 2023 over findings of food theft.

In the last decade, the U.S. Government has invested heavily in a single country-wide program called the Joint Emergency Operations Program (JEOP), led by Catholic Relief Services and including CARE, World Vision, Save the Children, Food for Hungry, ORDA, and REST.  Currently, the US Department of Agriculture is funding WFP in Ethiopia and reviewing proposals for new NGO emergency food and nutrition assistance, likely in the $80 million range.

Separately, the Joint UN Initiative for the Prevention of Wasting was launched in Ethiopia in August 2025 by the Federal Ministry of Health with WHO, UNICEF, and WFP, supported by FCDO. It is a five-year, multisectoral effort to prevent wasting among children 0–18 months in food-insecure settings.

The Ethiopia Nutrition Cluster (a group of UN agencies and NGOs) coordinates humanitarian assistance. dozens of high-need zones, especially in Gambella, South Ethiopia, parts of Somali, and conflict areas of Amhara and Oromia, have zero or only one nutrition partner. These “neglected gap zones” are the places where extra help could save the most lives.

In addition to the agencies mentioned above, aid nonprofits (NGOs) that address food and nutrition in Ethiopia include:  Oxfam, Welthungerhilfe, GOAL, Mercy Corps, Action Against Hunger, Project Hope, Tearfund, Plan International, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Cordaid, Terre des Hommes, and Norwegian Church Aid.

Many aid agencies work via networks such as the half-century-old  Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Associations (CCRDA).   In Tigray, a long-term relief agency that managed food aid in multiple famines is the Relief Society of Tigray, known as REST.

 

Most of Yemen is Now Hungry

June 17, 2026   Yesterday, the UN was advised that the extent of food insecurity in Yemen had ratcheted up further:  “The hunger crisis in Yemen is worsening sharply, with the share of people unable to meet basic food needs rising from about half to nearly 60 percent within a month,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher warned on Tuesday, calling for urgent funding to prevent further starvation.  “The number of Yemenis facing the most severe levels of deprivation has increased from one in four to nearly one in three. More than 18 million people, …are now experiencing acute hunger, ” Fletcher told the UN Security Council during a June 16 briefing.

Over 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished, including more than half a million in the severe, life-threatening form. Nearly half of all children under five suffer chronic malnutrition (stunting), locking in lifelong disadvantages for a generation. In hard-hit areas, half of households with young children report at least one malnourished child, while one in four has a malnourished pregnant or lactating woman.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification System (IPC) of famine predicts and projects a growing number of regions moving into Phase 4 — Emergency, shown in red in the map at right — for the period September to December 2026.  The Orange Zones are very food insecure and Red are emergency.

The 2026 Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan of the U.N. requested $2.16 billion for aid in order to reach 12 million of the 22.3 million people in need of assistance.  Yet, donor fatigue and competing global crises threaten another shortfall. Recent floods have destroyed displacement camps and livelihoods, while economic pressures and regional shipping tensions continue to inflate food and fuel prices. In government-controlled areas alone, nearly half the population now are now suffering crisis-level acute food insecurity, with emergency levels expected to climb through the lean season.The country’s arid climate, limited arable land, and chronic water scarcity have always constrained domestic production. Yemen has long depended on imports for over 90 percent of its food, especially wheat, of which it imports around 96 percent, leaving it acutely vulnerable to global price spikes, shipping disruptions, currency collapse, and fuel shortages that drive up transport costs.  War has only deepened this dependency.

The current civil war, fueled by Iranian support to Houthi rebels, has made humanitarian aid more difficult.  NGOs that had been building long-term food resilience for years had to shift to more short-term life-saving aid.  Damaged irrigation, lost livestock, displacement of farmers, and soaring input costs have left cereal production well below average. Even when commercial imports through Red Sea ports remain adequate in volume, economic collapse and rial devaluation put basic staples beyond reach for millions.

The chart at right comes from the CEOBS Report: Yemen’s agriculture in distress – ceobs.org

What is new and especially alarming in 2026 is the sharp contraction of the humanitarian response itself. In January, the World Food Programme announced it was terminating operations and contracts for its 365 staff in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen, home to roughly 70 percent of the country’s humanitarian needs—after repeated obstructions, arbitrary detentions of aid workers, and an increasingly impossible operating environment. This followed earlier suspensions and adds to chronic underfunding.  The 2025 appeal was only 29 percent funded, forcing agencies to scale back nutrition, health, and food programs nationwide.

Yemen’s food insecurity has deep roots, but the convergence of aid cutbacks, operational halts in the areas of greatest need, economic freefall, and climate shocks risks erasing fragile gains in nutrition and pushing more families beyond their breaking point.

Aid agencies helping to address malnutrition in Yemen include:  the International Committee of the Red Cross, Action Against Hunger, Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières, CARE, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council, Oxfam, Islamic Relief, Medair and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency.  Relief International is working with WFP in food aid in the south of Yemen.  UNICEF coordinates much of the nutrition programming for children and mothers, and the U.N. Nutrition Cluster (led by UNICEF), which reports for 44 operational nutrition partners in Yemen.

Further information, see:  https://www.nutritioncluster.net/country/yemen

and https://fscluster.org/yemen

 

Kenya’s Arid Lands Face Persistent Hunger Crisis Amid Mixed Projections for Late 2026

June 14, 2026     Kenya continues to face severe hunger and malnutrition in its arid and semi‑arid lands (ASAL), where drought, high food prices, and weakened pastoralist livelihoods have pushed millions into crisis. According to the U.S. Famine Early Warning System (FEWS NET), 2.5–2.99 million people currently need food assistance, with needs possibly declining to 1.5–1.99 million by December 2026 if weather conditions improve.

However, more recent field data from Action Against Hunger (ACF) and partners show a sharper picture:3.7 million people are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse, including 400,000 in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency).  This represents a dramatic increase (a 52% jump) compared to early 2025.).

Where the Crisis Is Most Severe

Northern and northeastern counties remain the hardest hit. Nutrition assessments in early 2026 classified:

  • »  Mandera, Turkana South/East, and parts of Marsabit as Extremely Critical (IPC Acute Malnutrition Phase 5)
  • »  Garissa, Wajir, Isiolo, and Samburu as Critical (Phase 4)

These counties account for about 62% of Kenya’s total malnutrition burden.

Recent data from UNICEF, the Ministry of Health, and the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) estimate:

  • »  810,871 children under five need treatment for wasting (up from 760,488 in 2025)
  • »  116,800 pregnant and breastfeeding women also require treatment

Malnutrition Levels Remain Alarmingly High

SMART surveys and community screenings show persistently high wasting rates:

  • »  Wajir: 14.95% GAM (2023)
  • »  Baringo/Tiaty: 21% GAM
  • »  Turkana (some areas): ~33% GAM in community screenings
  • »  Turkana (2024 SMART): GAM declined from 26.4% to 21.8%—still above the 15% emergency threshold

In several northern counties—Mandera, Turkana South/East, and North Horr—analyses in late 2025 and early 2026 indicated Extremely Critical levels, meaning wasting rates of 30% or more. As your text states, “Northern areas such as Mandera, Turkana South/East, and North Horr reportedly reached Phase 5 ‘Extremely Critical’… corresponding to a rate of wasting malnutrition of 30% or more.”

A major warning sign is the collapse in mass screening coverage, which fell from 75% of hotspots in 2023 to under 15% by August 2025 due to funding shortages. This means many children with acute malnutrition are simply not being identified.

Drivers of the Crisis

The hunger emergency is fueled by overlapping shocks:

  • »  Erratic rainfall and recurring drought
  • »  High food prices
  • »  Poor livestock‑to‑cereal terms of trade
  • »» Livestock deaths and reduced milk production
  • »  Insecurity along the Kenya–Somalia border and in parts of Turkana

These factors have eroded pastoralist livelihoods and reduced household access to food.

Refugee Camps Under Severe Strain

Kenya hosts roughly 720,000 refugees in Dadaab, Kakuma, and Kalobeyei. Food rations have been cut to 28% of standard levels, worsening malnutrition among Somali and South Sudanese refugees. Funding gaps have also caused stockouts of ready‑to‑use supplementary foods (RUSF) and therapeutic foods in several hotspot counties.

Mixed Outlook for Late 2026

FEWS NET projects that food insecurity may ease by December 2026 if rainfall and harvests improve. But high prices and the upcoming lean season mean many households will remain in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse without continued support. National‑level improvements risk masking localized Phase 4–5 emergencies in remote ASAL counties and refugee settlements.

Humanitarian Response

Several NGOs continue to deliver life‑saving assistance:

  • »  Action Against Hunger (ACF) operates across Samburu, Baringo, West Pokot, Isiolo, Tana River, Kwale, Mandera, and the refugee camps, often using UNICEF and WFP supply chains for last‑mile delivery.
  •   International Rescue Committee (IRC) leads nutrition programs in Kakuma.
  • »  Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) supports health and nutrition services in Dadaab.
  • »  World Vision, Humanity & Inclusion, Cordaid, and Kenya Red Cross work with county governments on community outreach, CMAM programs, and cash support.

These organizations coordinate through the Kenya Nutrition Cluster to address both immediate treatment needs and the underlying drivers of hunger.

May 28 = World Hunger Day

May 28, 2026     May 28 was World Hunger day, inspiring many to take action to reduce malnutrition.  The overarching theme for this year’s global campaign is “The End of Hunger is in Our Hands”. 

The World Hunger Day initiative was founded in 2011 by The Hunger Project, a global non-profit organization established in 1977.

While many global awareness days focus heavily on immediate crisis relief and the distribution of emergency food aid, the original intent behind establishing World Hunger Day was to shift the global narrative toward sustainability and self-reliance.  Organizations like Islamic Relief have utilized today to issue a formal warning that the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of “Zero Hunger by 2030” is rapidly slipping out of reach due to localized aid funding cuts and war-related supply chain disruptions, particularly noting that humanitarian aid is currently meeting only a tiny fraction of the acute need in places like Somalia.

In South Africa, the day serves as the climax of a national week of mobilization organized by the Union Against Hunger (UAH), which declared May 25–30 as Food Justice Week.  International service networks, such as local Lions Clubs, are executing targeted community supply runs today, routing fresh fruits and vegetables directly to underfunded early-childhood crèches and community kitchens to combat localized child wasting and stunting.

The worst levels are concentrated in three bands:

  • * The Horn of Africa and East Africa – Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Sudan
  • *  Central and West Africa – Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Niger, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Madagascar
  • *  Conflict hotspots outside Africa – Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Haiti, and North Korea.

In Haiti:  nearly 277,000 children aged 6 to 59 months are facing or expected to face acute malnutrition.  In Kenya, the number of children aged 6 to 59 months requiring treatment for malnutrition between April 2025 and March 2026 is estimated to be 741,883.  In Ethiopia,~900,000 severely wasted children under 5 are estimated, nationally.

In the United States, food banks are feeling an intense squeeze. Daily living costs are so high that even families with full-time jobs are showing up at pantries just to make it to the end of the month.

The United Nations (UN) often sees significant legislative and health policy momentum occur in tandem with the day. For instance, the UN’s World Health Assembly (the decision-making body of the World Health Organization) regularly approves key nutrition-focused resolutions regarding persistent global stunting, wasting, and anemia around late May, intentionally capitalizing on the heightened public awareness surrounding World Hunger Day.

The UN’s 2025 Hunger Hotspots report flags the same places, naming Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, and South Sudan as the world’s most vulnerable, with 24.6 million Sudanese facing crisis-phase food insecurity.  Global hunger actually fell to 8.2% in 2024, but Africa and western Asia saw hunger rise.

World Vision cites 673 million people in the world facing hunger.

  • Action Against Hunger focuses heavily on treating and preventing acute malnutrition, often launching corporate and public partnerships on this day to fund nutritional programs.

  • World Vision & Compassion International utilize the day to run child-focused sponsorship campaigns, highlighting the specific impacts of food scarcity on early childhood development and maternal health.

  • Student resources for learning about world hunger can be found on this site, for instance:  https://www.worldhunger.org/lesson-plans-on-hunger-and-food-insecurity/
  • and https://www.worldhunger.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Understanding-Global-Hunger-Fact-Sheet-3-1.pdf

Summary of Aid Agency Roundtable Meeting about the Duty of Care of National Staff

May 9, 2026       Increasingly aid agencies have argued for more decision- making, resources and active roles for “local”, or national, actors in aid programs, including food, nutrition and other development and humanitarian efforts.  At the same time, aid agencies have taken efforts to provide balanced “duty of care” (DoC) for local employees, partners, volunteers and their families during disasters.  But best practice standards remain unclear and there are many challenges, if not barriers, to achieving the goals of DoC across security, training, psychosocial care, rest and relaxation, legal support, relocation and other dimensions.

On March 13, World Hunger Education serivce (publisher of this online educational platform, “Hunger Notes”) partnered with Compassion International and George Washington University in hosting a roundtable of experts from two dozen aid agencies, for a two-hour open discussion to share lessons about DoC.

A central concern was the persistent gap between policy and practice. Local staff often work in dangerous environments, carry the “double burden” of being both responders and affected community members, and have limited access to evacuation, psychosocial support, family assistance, and equitable medical care. Participants also noted that security, HR, and wellness systems remain siloed within organizational systems and responsibilities, weakening crisis response.

One participant said, “In disasters national staff deployed away from home are exposed to crisis contexts and deserve the same evacuation protections as international staff.”

The roundtable highlighted additional problems in federated NGO structures and sub-granting systems, where responsibility for partner staff is often unclear. Family support, remote work options during conflict, and coverage for indirect workers remain underdeveloped. At the same time, participants cited emerging improvements: more donor attention, growing mental health awareness, contextualized well-being frameworks, and some stronger onboarding and training models.

“Framing duty of care as mission-driven (not compliance- or HR-driven) is the key to getting executive support.”

Overall, the meeting concluded that NGOs need clearer definitions of who is covered, more equitable protections for local staff, harmonized policies, better training, and a stronger cross-sector community of practice

See this downloadable below: 

Roundtable Summary Duty of Care (public)

Action Against Hunger 10 Global Hunger Hot Spots

May 6, 2026    This year, as in the past, the international aid agency “Action Against Hunger” (also known as ACF, or Action Contre la Faim) released their annual hunger report, titled “10 Global Hunger Hot Spots.”  This year the report describes a compound crisis model as causing hunger.  The compound crises are: conflict, displacement, climate shocks, inflation, market collapse, disease, and weak public institutions all stack on top of each other. Its real message is that famine is rarely just about food.  Rather, hunger is usually the endpoint of different social and economic crises.

Action Against Hunger estimates that 30 million children are acutely malnourished today, including about 8.5 million severely malnourished children, and at least 13 million pregnant or breastfeeding women are malnourished. That makes this as much a maternal-and-child survival crisis as a food-security crisis.

The report also makes an unusually strong argument that humanitarian access and humanitarian financing are now central determinants of mortality.

The report seeks to quantify the impact of global reducations in aid during the last year in various ways.  It highlights the 65% funding shortfall for hunger-related humanitarian programming and notes that the United States announced an 83% cut to humanitarian support, alongside cuts by several European donors. it explains the cascading effects of these cut-backs (e.g., 300+ nutrition centers closed in Afghanistan).  It cites the  Lancet-linked estimate that USAID-funded programs saved over 90 million lives over 20 years, warning that sustaining cuts through 2030 could lead to 14 million preventable deaths, including 4.5 million children under five. That is one of the report’s most consequential arguments.

It recommends:

  1.  Ensure full and safe humanitarian access of aid to needy people, and prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war;
  2.  Integrate climate and food security: 3. Focus on women and children.
  3.  Donor funds should be addequate, flexible and multi-sectoral
  4.  Support local and inclusive solutions
  5.  Strengthen prevention: Every strategy should include nutrition, food security, and access to basic health services, aiming to prevent hunger rather than just manage it.
  6.  Uphold adequate nutrition as a fundamental human right,
    ensuring that the right to food is respected and protecte

According to ACF, the top ten countries today in terms of total numbers of  people in acute food insecurity (at risk of hunger) are:

    • → Nigeria: 31.8 million:  “The nutritional crises are exacerbated by prolonged conflicts in the northeast of the country (Boko Haram and ISWAP), which make large areas virtually inaccessible to relief and food supplies, creating a vicious cycle of food insecurity and malnutrition.”
    • →  Sudan: 25.6 million:  “Sudan is facing the world’s most severe food and displacement crisis, but the scale of the suffering remains underestimated and underfunded.”
    • → The DRC: 25.6 million:  “This is not just a matter of a lack of funds: it is a matter of life and death.”
    • → Bangladesh: 23.6 million:  “Bangladesh faces recurring extreme weather events, demographic pressures, economic instability, and vulnerability of urban and rural infrastructure.”
    • → Ethiopia: 22 million
    • → Yemen: 16.7 million
    • → Afghanistan: 15.8 million
    • → Myanmar: 14.4 million
    • → Pakistan: 11.8 million
    • → Syria: 9.2 million

The report includes the map at right showing the countries where ACF, seen here.:

To assist journalists and researchers, the report has chapters by country. The country-specific “Inside Look” sections (written by Action Against Hunger directors) provide expert analysis on barriers like bureaucratic delays (Sudan), siege conditions (Gaza), or climate adaptation (Bangladesh).

For example:  “South Sudan continues to experience levels of malnutrition that reach emergency thresholds, with a steady downward trend each year. Local communities face multiple and interconnected crises, including the collapse of basic services, recurrent displacement due to conflict and flooding, and widespread food insecurity caused by climate shocks and economic
instability. In this context, the difficulties for humanitarian organizations are
multiplying…”

These chapters combine direct stories from affected communities (e.g., Zuwaira in Nigeria, Yasir in Sudan, Fatima in Afghanistan) and operational insights from Action Against Hunger’s country directors. These add emotional depth and ground-level reality to the statistics.

At the same time, the chapters include technical indicators such as population estimates, HDI rank, internally displaced persons, refugees, people in need, Humanitarian Response Plan funding requirements, HRP funding gaps, health-facility functionality, WASH access, cholera cases, food-price inflation, currency depreciation, hectares/crop losses from floods, and ACF operational outputs such as children treated for severe malnutrition, water points rehabilitated, cash assistance, and psychosocial support beneficiaries.

ACF (Action Against Hunger) has published many important publications for many years, such as “the Justice of Eating” shown here.  “The Justice of Eating – the Struggle For Food and Dignity in Recent Humanitarian Crises” was a 2007-08 Hunger Watch Report by Action Against Hunger.  It positioned the right to food as an essential human right and a matter of justice, not charity, arguing that failing to address hunger is a violation of human dignity.  The report, edited by Samuel Hauenstein Swan and Bapu Vaitla, documents the struggles for food access during humanitarian crises and emphasizes that fighting hunger is about upholding human dignity.

see:  https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/app/uploads/2026/01/2025_GlobalEmergencies_Map_v3-compressed.pdf

and:  https://www.actioncontrelafaim.org/

https://accioncontraelhambre.org/en

Hunger in Haiti

April 28, 2026:   Over the last six years, the food crisis in Haiti has grown steadily worse.  In 2019–2020, around 3.7 million Haitians were in food insecurity (IPC) Phase 3 or above.  By 2022–2023, that was approaching 4.7 million, nearly half the population. The most recent UN Integrated Phase Classification system analysis shows 5.7 million people (more than half the population) facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with 1.9 million in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency).

What distinguishes Haiti from other countries is the degree to which hunger is caused by gangs.  Historically, gang violence in Haiti was largely concentrated in specific slums of Port-au-Prince. While devastating for those communities, the national food supply chain, which relies heavily on imports through the capital’s port, remained somewhat functional.  Between October 2024 and June 2025, gang violence expanded westward into the Artibonite and Centre Departments, where 92,000 and 147,000 people were displaced respectively. By early 2025, the violence had also expanded into previously untouched areas of the country, and gangs began expanding north, south and east toward the Dominican Republic border, with the apparent goal of controlling key roads used for illegal weapons trafficking.

Gangs directly affect Haiti’s food economy.   Haiti imports over 70% of its rice and wheat but gangs now control key maritime and overland routes , strangling the entire country’s supply chain.  The Port of Port-au-Prince is blocked, forcing rerouting to Cap-Haïtien, raising costs.

Agricultural output in the Artibonite is down by at least 48%, according to the technical coordinator at the Artibonite Valley Development Organization. Gangs have taken over irrigation canals that feed the valley, leaving fields barren. Agriculture has stopped entirely in areas like Petite Rivière, Verrettes, and Pont-Sondé, where fields lie fallow and are overrun by weeds.   Gangs control irrigation systems (e.g., in Liancourt, Verrettes), forcing farmers to pay “taxes” for water or share their harvest.  Major markets (e.g., Croix-des-Bossales) are >80% non-functional.

UN World Food Program analysis using European Space Agency satellite imagery found up to 3,000 hectares of Artibonite farmland abandoned in 2023 compared to 2018, and hunger in these areas jumped from 40% to 57% in a single year.

According to ACLED, instances of sociopolitical violence almost doubled in three years , from 455 events in 2020 to 874 in 2023. The number of violent events in January 2024 was more than 70% higher than January 2023, and more than 60% above the five-year average.  As a result, over 1.4 million people are displaced (double the number from just a year ago), overwhelming host communities.  More than 5,600 people were killed in 2024 alone. Between October 2024 and June 2025, another 4,864 people were killed.

The graph at right shows how the prevalence of child malnutrition has increased over recent years.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports that 75% of households cannot afford health services, and nearly 50% of the population survives on less than $3 a day.

In this 2026 cycle, UNICEF has targeted over 129,000 children (aged 6–59 months) for treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition.  UNICEF’s estimate of the increase in the number of cases of severe malnutrition is shown in the graph below.

Aid agencies have been continuously trying to provide life-saving assistance.  NGOs such as CARE, Catholic Relief Services and World Vision have led large consortia to promote nutrition in Haiti for decades, though the ability of outside agencies to operate has become constrained.  Today, agencies responding include:

  • -Action Against Hunger US is involved in Haiti. They support populations affected by violence and displacement, delivering critical food assistance and cash support in the Nord-Ouest region. In Nord-Est and Sud, their focus is on preventing malnutrition through targeted interventions. In Port-au-Prince, they provide vocational training, treat children suffering from malnutrition, and offer primary healthcare services to over 30,000 people.
  • -Catholic Relief Services (CRS) provides food assistance.
  • -CARE provides food to displaced populations.
  • -Compassion International provides food and voucher support through 365 church partners, helping children and caregivers.
  • -GOAL is providing cash for food security.
  • -Malteser International supports food security and nutrition, working with community health centers to identify and support malnourished children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.
  • -Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) provides mobile and maternity clinics.
  • -Partners In Health (PIH/Zanmi Lasante): PIH deploys mobile food clinics staffed with medical professionals and community health workers to sites in the Artibonite region. They seek to identify malnourished children early so treatment can be delivered before health problems become fatal
  • -World Vision. World Vision is active in Haiti with child-focused hunger work, including school meals and other food support. Recent World Vision materials also describe food packages and support tied to the hunger crisis in Haiti.
  • -Meds & Food for Kids (MFK). This is a particularly important nutrition-focused Haiti organization. MFK produces therapeutic and supplemental foods in Haiti and works with Haitian clinics to treat malnourished infants and toddlers; it also runs school-feeding support with Vita Mamba

Lebanon’s 2026 Conflict and Displacement Increase Malnutrition

April 8, 2026:    An estimated 1.65 million people in Lebanon are vulnerable to increased food shortages and malnutrition due to the combination of conflict, bombardment, displacement and denied access of food shipments. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon has caused significant agricultural damage, estimated at $704 million, and disrupted livelihoods, especially for small-scale farmers.  However, aid agencies have not reported new rates of malnutrition from population-based surveys.

Pre-conflict, children in Lebanon were found to be 36% anemic from iron deficiency, with reduced dietary diversity and high rates of zinc and Vitamin A deficiency.

Daily military strikes and incursions continue, particularly in the south of Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, preventing people from returning home and resuming their livelihood.  People are sheltering in schools, public spaces, and even their cars, with many shelters already overcrowded. Hotspots include Baalbek, El Hermel, Akkar, Bent Jbeil, Marjaayoun, El Nabatieh, and Sour.  Seven bridges across the Litani River — a key transport corridor linking southern areas to the rest of the country — were struck as of late March 2026, disrupting supply routes for food, fuel, and medical goods.   Retail activity collapsed in conflict zones: only 15% of shops in El-Nabatieh and one-third in South Lebanon remained fully operational.   Markets south of the Litani River largely ceased operations, with many shops closed or evacuated and supply deliveries significantly reduced

More generally, Lebanese also have seen increases in the price of food, which has been affected by the regional conflict and constraints on fuel.  For example, the price of bread increased 8% at subsidized rates but 30% at many bakeries.  The Ministry of Economy increased the price of bread  by 5,000 Lebanese pounds due to rising fuel costs affecting oven operations and flour transportation.

International Aid

As needs have increased, the funding for aid has decreased. Food assistance coverage has dropped by about 45% between 2024 and 2025, forcing the WFP to reduce the number of people it assists by 40%.

Aid agencies that are responding with nutrition, food and health assistance include the Mennonite Central Committee, the Lebanese Red Cross, Action Against Hunger (AAH and ACF), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNICEF, CARE, Caritas, MedAir, and others.

A new digital platform called Sofra is coordinating an innovative response by connecting international donors with local restaurants to prepare and deliver meals to verified shelters. This initiative helps feed displaced families while supporting local businesses and keeping restaurant staff employed.

Regenerative Agriculture to Mitigate Hunger: Thurow’s Latest Book

Book Review:    Roger Thurow’s Against the Grain:  How Farmers Around the Globe are Transforming Agriculture to Nourish the World and Heal the Planet (2024, Publisher:  Agate Surrey)

American journalist, Roger Thurow, has written consistently about global hunger and food issues for many years.  In his latest globe-spanning book he highlights the work of farmers who are “going against the grain” by adopting regenerative agriculture practices.  These methods prioritize soil health, biodiversity, and natural processes, leading to more resilient and productive farms. Thurow introduces readers to farmers in diverse regions, from the American Midwest to Africa and India, who are successfully implementing these practices and achieving remarkable results.

Thurow visits a dozen countries in different continents telling the story of local responses to the upward pressures of world population growth and the strains on global food chains.  He highlights the UN World Food Programme, the NGO World Vision, the International Livestock Research Institute, and others.

Against the Grain’s central theme revolves around the idea that industrial agriculture, with its reliance on monoculture, chemical inputs, and intensive farming methods, has come at a significant cost to both the environment and human health.  Thurow argues that this common approach is unsustainable and undermines the long-term viability of food production.

One of the book’s strengths is its ability to explain the connections between individual farming practices and global concerns such as climate change, food security, and public health. Thurow demonstrates how sustainable agriculture can play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He emphasizes the importance of diverse, nutrient-rich diets in combating malnutrition and promoting public health.  He interviews dozens of farmers, some of whom farmers incurred risks to change their  long-term practices to work with nature and terrace their land to catch more rainwater and prevent soil runoff; to plant a diverse range of vegetables that would balance the nutrients in the soil; to replaced commercial fertilizers with organic matter from their own farms;  to plant more trees and drought-resistant grains; and then shared their success with neighbors and communities.

Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach focused on restoring and enhancing the health and biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems. Its primary goals include regenerating soil, increasing carbon sequestration, improving water retention, and promoting biodiversity. Key practices include crop rotation, agroforestry, composting, reduced tillage, cover cropping, and integrating livestock in ways that mirror natural ecosystems.

Unlike conventional farming, which aims for sustainability, regenerative agriculture goes a step further by actively enhancing the land’s health rather than simply preserving its current state. The overarching aim is to create systems that are ecologically resilient, economically viable, and socially beneficial.

Throughout the book, Thurow shares examples from diverse ecosystems across the globe where regenerative agriculture has successfully rejuvenated soil and improved farm productivity. However, the book does not delve deeply into economic profitability or provide technical analyses of how specific practices restore farmland. Instead, Thurow provides accessible, layman-friendly descriptions using personal stories and real-life examples.

Here are some of the practices highlighted across different regions:

Location   Practices
Ethiopia Rift Valley   Water catchment, terraces, intercropping, tree planting
Uganda   Tree planting, intercropping, livestock integration, amaranth, mucuna beans, crop rotation
Kenya   Dairy management with perennial forage (Brachiaria grass), transforming garbage dumps with greenhouses, chickens, and rabbits
Indo-Gangetic Plain   Crop diversity, drip irrigation, cold chain management, composting
Pan American Highlands   Preservation of genetic diversity, crop diversity, drip irrigation, composting with crop residue
US Great Plains   Zero tillage, composting with manure, planting Kernza (a perennial forage and grain crop)

 

Across all of these examples, composting, crop rotation, and intercropping are central practices used to maximize production while simultaneously restoring soil health. Thurow emphasizes that for many smallholder farmers, “livestock are the ATMs of smallholder farmers,” representing their wealth storage. One farmer from the Great Plains shared his positive experience with Kernza, a perennial crop that provides both grain and livestock forage: “Once planted, perennials keep growing year after year, yielding multiple harvests.”

Thurow spends time with farmers in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley who are implementing practices like terracing and agroforestry to restore degraded land and improve their livelihoods.  He highlights the ongoing work of aid organizations like the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in promoting sustainable agriculture and empowering local communities.

In Uganda, he visits farmers who are diversifying their crops, integrating livestock, and using cover crops to improve soil health and increase resilience to drought.

He explores efforts to combat land degradation and improve food security in Ethiopia, where farmers are adopting techniques like intercropping and water harvesting to enhance productivity in the face of challenging environmental conditions.  He travels to India’s Indo-Gangetic Plain, where he meets Indian farmers who are revitalizing their soil and increasing yields through practices like no-till farming and crop rotation. He also examines the challenges faced by Indian farmers, including water scarcity and climate change.

When visiting Guatemala’s Highlands, Thurow describes the efforts of smallholder farmers to preserve traditional maize varieties and promote sustainable farming practices in the face of pressures from industrial agriculture.

Against the Grain offers a valuable contribution to the conversation about the future of food and farming. It provides a hopeful vision of a more sustainable and equitable food system, while also acknowledging the challenges that lie ahead. Thurow’s engaging writing style and his passion for the subject matter make “Against the Grain” an informative and thought-provoking read for anyone interested in the intersection of food, agriculture, and the environment.

Note:  Some NGOs specialize in promoting this type of agriculture, including Trees for the Future. Thurow serves on the advisory committee for Action Against Hunger, US.

A related book review about Regenerative Agriculture is available at another non-profit’s (Well Being International’s) site:  https://wellbeingintl.org/resources/newsletter-archive/wellbeingnews/wellbeing-news-vol-6-11/  .

*Reviewed by WHES Board