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Human security encompasses the protection of individuals' basic needs and rights, including access to food. Food insecurity, defined as the lack of reliable access to sufficient nutritious food, affects millions worldwide. This issue is exacerbated by factors such as climate change, conflict, and economic instability.

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food distribution center

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According to the FAO, nearly 690 million people went hungry in 2019, with numbers rising due to conflicts and climate change

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Statistics | FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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Sound and timely statistics are key to inform decisions, policies and investments that tackle issues related to food and agriculture, from hunger and malnutr…

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Brazil’s Zero Hunger Program (Fome Zero), launched in 2003, aimed to eradicate hunger through social policies, direct financial aid, food banks, and agricultural support. The program significantly reduced hunger rates and improved nutrition among vulnerable populations.

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Challenges

In Brazil, approximately 2.5 per cent of the population suffers from malnutrition. Although the agriculture sector thrived, rural proprieties were focused mainly on commodity production, and smallholder farmers were not able to keep up with the growing demand for food. The North and Northeastern regions were especially affected by hunger and malnutrition, as climate conditions, droughts and floods created barriers for smallholder farmers to produce food. Central and Southern urban peripheries also struggled with lack of infrastructure and poor access to basic supplies, and vulnerable communities from the favelas struggled with hunger on a daily basis. A national and comprehensive effort to address food security was thus imperative.

Towards a Solution

The Government of Brazil established the Zero Hunger Programme as an umbrella initiative to tackle the immediate causes of hunger and malnutrition in the country. It implemented the project through a series of minor initiatives, which sought to engage regional and local governments in food security efforts and mobilize public agencies in the fight against hunger. Coordinated by the Special Secretariat of Family Farming and Agrarian Development (and by the Extraordinary Ministry of Food Security), the programme involved the creation of the Bolsa Família programme, (a conditional cash transfer scheme), the establishment of low-cost restaurants, the teaching of nutrition habits, the improvement of the water supply, the boosting of smallholder farmers' capacities and other specific measures. Complementarily, the Food Acquisition Programme, created in 2003, contributed to the reduction of poverty and the overcoming of hunger in the country, especially in the rural areas, reaching a total of 188,000 families, mainly by allowing rural families to take control of the food supply, thereby eliminating the need for intermediaries.

The programme succeeded in removing Brazil from the world hunger map by reducing the population suffering from malnutrition by 82 per cent between 2003 and 2012. As a consequence, poverty rates also fell from 24 per cent of the total population in 2003 to 8.5 per cent in 2012. In terms of child mortality, there was a reduction from 26.1 to 15.3 from 2001 to 2011, Brazil went from the "average" range (20 to 49 deaths per thousand) to the "low" range (less than 20). FAO's report also shows that the rate fell in all regions, with a more marked reduction in the Northeast (6.6% per year on average). The infant mortality rate in the indigenous population decreased by 56.1% between 2000 and 2009, and the prevalence of acute malnutrition (underweight for age) in children under five years decreased from 4.2% to 1.8% between 1996 and 2006. Chronic malnutrition, characterized by short stature-for-age, also fell by half from 1996 to 2006, from 13.4% to 6.7%, with a greater reduction among the lower income bracket.

The Brazilian experience involved a decade of efforts, driven mainly by government agencies, and served as an example for food security programmes of other countries. Based on Brazil's Zero Hunger Programme, the Africa-Brazil Cooperation Programme on Social Development was launched in 2008; it aimed at introducing six African countries (Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia) to the Zero Hunger component, Bolsa Família, through visits of representatives of the Government of Brazil and distance-learning efforts, ultimately assisting Ghana to create and develop its own cash-transfer initiative. Also inspired by the Brazilian experience, FAO launched the Initiative for Latin America and Caribbean without Hunger 2025, which works through the Programme of Brazil-FAO International Cooperation. It promotes the exchange of experiences among countries through South-South cooperation so that they can replicate their successful experiences and improve their public policies to fight hunger, focusing especially on the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Paraguay.

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Brazil's Zero Hunger Programme | South-South Galaxy

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Challenges In Brazil, approximately 2.5 per cent of the population suffers from malnutrition. Although the agriculture sector thrived, rural proprieties were focused mainly on commodity production, and smallholder farmers were not able to keep up with the growing demand for food.

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Yemen’s dire food insecurity is a result of prolonged conflict and ineffective governance, which hinder food imports and distribution. This highlights the critical need for peace and stable governance to address such crises.

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Photo: WFP/ Hebatallah Munassar/2022

Fighting Conflict & Famine

Yemen is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, suffering from both climate extremes and internal conflict.

Looming Starvation

More than 17 million Yemenis - over half the population - don't know if or when they'll eat another meal. With multiple threats closing in from all sides, untold numbers of innocent people could starve.

We're fighting hard to feed over 10 million of the most vulnerable people, but we desperately need more funds to do so.

4.5M

people are internally displaced

21.6M

people in need of humanitarian assistance

17M

people are food insecure

Yemen Facts

Population: 34.4 million people.

Background: North Yemen gained independence in 1918. By 1967, the People's Republic of Yemen is created in the south. The two countries merged into one in 1990.

Geography & Climate: Yemen is located on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the east, the Gulf of Aden to the south and the Red Sea to the west. The region is mostly a dry and hot desert landscape with mountains in the west.

Economy: Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The country's economy has been severely weakened by years of civil war. Its main industries include oil, gas, agriculture and fishing.

What's Causing Hunger in Yemen?

Photo: WFP/Fares Khoailed

Civil War

Decades of civil war in Yemen have displaced 4.5 million people displaced from their homes and and pushed 17 million people into acute hunger. Conflict destroys lives, uproots communities and wrecks food systems, making it the primary cause of hunger.

Photo: WFP/Annabel Symington

Weakened Economy

Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the MENA region. On the Human Development Index, it ranks 168th out of 177 countries. An estimated 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. Ongoing conflict has damaged the economy and made the situation even worse. With a devalued currency and high cost of goods, millions are pushed into hunger.

Intense Drought

Yemen's severe water scarcity and land degradation already make it difficult to grow food, but climate change is making conditions worse. Heavy storms cause flash floods that erode the soil and uproots vegetation. Intense droughts cause desertification. These two climate extremes destroy crops and make it difficult to sustain agriculture. Being on the coast, rising sea levels also causes saltwater intrusion which contaminates clean water and hurts agriculture.

THIS IS HOW WFP DELIVERS FOOD in Yemen

The U.N. World Food Programme has been working in Yemen since 1967. Through all the ongoing conflict and natural disasters, WFP is determined to bring food to vulnerable families. Today, it uses smart, innovative solutions including ships, mobile cranes, e-cards and mVAM.

Photo: WFP/Fares Khoailed Photo: WFP/Fares Khoailed Photo: WFP/Jean-Martin Bauer

Photo: WFP/Fares Khoailed

Photo: WFP/Annabel Symington

Help us realize a future beyond emergency assistance where our help is no longer needed.

Help us build people's knowledge, skills and resilience. Help us create economic opportunities for Yemeni families so they can get the food they need to reach their full potential.

Stories from Yemen

The U.N. World Food Programme is a lifeline for over 40% of Yemen's people each month. People like Domoaa, Amani and Maika.

Domoaa

Domoaa means 'tears' in Arabic. "I cry every day for the pain and suffering we go through just to get food," her mother says.

Photo: WFP/Hayat Al Sharif

Maika

Maika Alaslemy is the head nurse at a health center in Yemen and works around the clock to save children from starvation. "Hunger doesn't differentiate between children," she says. "We work out of our obligation to save lives and preserve the future of Yemen."

Photo: WFP

Amani

Two-year-old Amani was carried to a WFP feeding center by her 10-year-old brother. More than 2 million Yemeni children require treatment for acute malnutrition.

Photo: WFP/Mohammed Awadh

Photo: WFP/Hayat Al Sharif

Help Save Lives

Despite our efforts, a child in Yemen dies every 10 minutes from preventable causes, including severe hunger. People in Yemen are suffering from years of civil war. You can help save lives by donating to send food to countries like Yemen experiencing conflict.

What's Happening in Yemen?

Read the latest stories and updates from Yemen:

© 2024 World Food Program USA. World Food Program USA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity (tax ID# 13-3843435).

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Yemen - A Humanitarian Crisis Caused by Civil War & Famine

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Find out what's happening in Yemen, where conflict, cholera, and famine are causing a food crisis moving millions of people to starvation.

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What is Food Insecurity? - Feeding Texas

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life, and also points out that, “It is important to know that hunger and food insecurity are closely related, but distinct, concepts. Hunger refers to a personal, physical sensation of discomfort, while food