Africa

Across Africa, food insecurity has become one of the continent’s most urgent crises, with roughly 1 in 5 people—about 307 million—chronically undernourished in 2024 and nearly one billion Africans unable to afford a healthy diet as soaring food prices and limited access to nutritious meals deepen the crisis. With over 430 million people living in extreme poverty across Sub-Saharan Africa alone, rural and marginalized communities face severe barriers to food, clean water, healthcare, and education, particularly in countries such as Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and across the Sahel. Recurring droughts, climate shocks, weak agricultural infrastructure, displacement, and economic instability leave millions struggling to secure even basic nourishment, while inadequate sanitation and healthcare further erode families’ resilience. Compared to other continents, Africa’s combination of climate vulnerability, conflict, fragile food systems, and rapid population growth makes hunger more widespread and multidimensional. Across the region, families continue to endure rising food shortages, crop failures, water scarcity, and limited access to essential services—challenges that demand sustained, large-scale interventions to strengthen food systems and create lasting, equitable change.