Hunger in Africa: South of the Sahara by Haziel Munoz

Introduction

s1868775 — 2025-08-19 20:17:42 UTC

The goal I decided to choose was Zero Hunger. I chose this goal because I have always been curious about why and how so many families end up hungry. Once I started the research and slowly unwrapped the many reasons why people go hungry I realized that there are many reasons we overlook and many of those reasons heavily affect hungry families. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2

The causes of Hunger

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 22:28:53 UTC

The causes of hunger can be various of things but the main causes are conflict, poverty, extreme weather, and diseases

https://www.wfpusa.org/hunger/issues/

Conflict

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 22:34:32 UTC

Conflict is the main reason for hunger around the world. It destroys the economy, ruins infrastructure and stops agricultural production. Food shortages can lead to social unrest and renewed violence creating a cycle where conflict causes hunger and hunger leads to more conflict.

https://www.wfp.org/conflict-and-hunger

Poverty

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 22:40:15 UTC

Poverty causes hunger by limiting people's income. Poor people cannot afford essential tools, education, healthcare and proper sanitation which also doesn't allow them to secure food and improve their long term well being. Overall, this creates a cycle where lack of income doesn't allow access to healthy food leading to sickness and making it harder for people to earn a suitable income. It also makes it tremendously harder to escape from poverty.

https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/the-hunger-crisis/the-causes-of-hunger/poverty/

Extreme Weather

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 22:43:42 UTC

Extreme weather causes hunger by destroying crops and farmland, destroying food supply chains, making food inaccessible. It destroys the quantity of available food which increases hunger. Extreme weather can also damage the transportation infrastructure like roads which delays the distribution of food. Therefore, lower food production can lead to higher food prices which makes food more difficult to purchase for poor families.

https://www.wfpusa.org/hunger/issues/extreme-weather/

Diseases

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 22:50:22 UTC

Outbreaks often occur in hunger hotspots creating complex health emergencies. Diseases such as hyperthyroidism and Insulinoma constantly cause hunger around the world. When disease strikes, adults are also not able to work which can reduce income needed to purchase food. For example, a study in Kenya found that the death of a male head of household from HIV/AIDS caused a 57% drop in crop production.

https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger

Famine

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 22:57:24 UTC

Famine is the deadliest form of hunger and is a widespread shortage of food leading to starvation and death. We have prevented famines before and with the right amount of help we can all stop it.

https://www.rescue.org/article/what-famine-how-its-caused-and-how-stop-it

Food Waste

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 23:02:38 UTC

Nearly one-third of all the food produced is mostly wasted and is more than enough to feed the hundreds of millions of people that go hungry everyday.

https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/reduce-food-waste

Gender inequality

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 23:07:35 UTC

In nearly two thirds of countries around the world, women are more likely to suffer more than men from hunger that's because in many cases women eat last and least.

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/op-ed/2024/03/op-ed-how-conflict-drives-hunger-for-women-and-girls

Economic Inequality

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 23:12:25 UTC

Higher wealth disparity leads to more food insecurity because it limits the access to food for low income people and it also creates obstacles for fresh and clean food.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9362113/

Dirty water & Unsafe Sanitation

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 23:17:02 UTC

Without clean water, illnesses like diarrhea, parasites can prevent children from absorbing key nutrients and lead them to malnutrition.

https://www.unicef.org/stories/4-things-you-need-know-about-water-and-famine

Weak Government

s1868775 — 2025-08-21 23:20:54 UTC

Weak governments can lead to hunger by fostering instability and conflict which disrupt many food systems and prevent people from growing food.

https://www.csis.org/analysis/dangerously-hungry-link-between-food-insecurity-and-conflict

Insignificance

s1868775 — 2025-08-26 20:07:47 UTC

Many people feel small and also feel like the potential help will not make a difference. Due to the fact that they feel like they wouldn't make a difference they would rather not do anything at all. This could effect hunger a lot and could cost the chance of families being fed.

Overwhelming

s1868775 — 2025-08-26 20:12:06 UTC

Many people around the world may feel overwhelmed or tired of constant news of world hunger and suffering. Another reason could be that no one feels the sense of urgency when it's not effecting them or community specifically.

Lack of Trust

s1868775 — 2025-08-26 20:16:11 UTC

Some donors lack trust in charities. They feel like their money is being wasted on other costs rather than people. However, many charities solve this problem by showing us how funds are used and where they go.

Introduction

s1868775 — 2025-09-01 20:47:28 UTC

The hunger crisis in Africa South of Sahara is driven by many reasons including droughts, floods, conflicts, economic challenges, and climate change. Millions of people are situations, with malnutrition rates rising specifically affecting young children. Events like the El Nino weather phenomenon and civil strife in places like Sudan have definitely worsened the situation.

https://www.globalhungerindex.org/regions/africa-south-of-the-sahara.html

Sudan

s1868775 — 2025-09-01 20:57:27 UTC

The civil war that started in 2023, has caused the worst crisis in the world. It has pushed the country to the brink of famine. More than 24 million people in Sudan are facing food insecurity and the situation is worsening with extreme weather conditions and the lack of access for work.

https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/sudan

West and Central Africa

s1868775 — 2025-09-01 21:02:50 UTC

These regions are experiencing record hunger levels. Over 50 million people faced severe food insecurity during the June 2025 lean season. Conflict and also economic hardship were key factors.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163086

The Horn of Africa

s1868775 — 2025-09-01 21:07:00 UTC

Millions remain food insecure after the region's worst drought in 40 years (2020-2023). While some areas saw improved rainfall in 2024, the effects of the drought continued conflict and still causing high food prices and poor living conditions.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/drought-food-insecurity-greater-horn-of-africa

How can food systems in Africa adapt to climate related disruptions?

s1868775 — 2025-09-01 21:12:21 UTC

How does climate change impact food production in Africa?

s1868775 — 2025-09-01 21:14:38 UTC

What changes are necessary for governments to prioritize food systems in Africa?

s1868775 — 2025-09-01 21:16:05 UTC