ReliefWeb

CONFLICT AND HUNGER - FACTS & FIGURES

Of the more than 800 million hungry (i.e. chronically food insecure) people in the world, about 490 million live in countries affected by conflict. That’s 60 percent of the world’s hungry people. SOFI 2018

Some 74 million people - two thirds of the 113 million people facing acute hunger in the world - are located in 21 countries affected by conflict and insecurity. Global Report on Food Crises 2019

Nearly 80 percent of stunted children - some 122 out of 155 million children - live in countries affected by conflict.

Ten out of 13 of the world’s main food crises are driven by conflict - and, as a consequence, nearly all of WFP’s biggest emergency operations are in conflict zones.

The three worst food crises in 2018 in order of severity were all countries affected by conflict: Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan.

More than 80 percent of resources requested by UN humanitarian appeals in recent years have been for humanitarian action in conflict situations.

Nearly a quarter of a million people have been killed directly by fighting in Yemen and indirectly through lack of access to food, health services and infrastructure.

About 2 billion people live in countries where development outcomes are affected by fragility, conflict and high levels of violence. About half of the world’s poor live in fragile or conflict-affected states.

WFP has found that countries with the highest level of food insecurity, coupled with armed conflict, have the highest outward migration of refugees. Additionally, when coupled with poverty, food insecurity increases the likelihood and intensity of armed conflicts. This is a factor with clear implications for refugee outflows.

By promoting peace and ending violent conflict, the world could save billions of dollars in humanitarian food assistance costs every year.

In conflict-affected countries, where agriculture and trade are disrupted, a simple plate of food can cost more than a day’s wages. In South Sudan, for example, it could be the equivalent of a New Yorker having to pay US$348 for a modest lunch such as a plate of bean stew.