The global food system is in crisis, putting millions of vulnerable people at risk of malnutrition. Communities across the world are now experiencing life-threatening levels of hunger on an unprecedented scale.
The situation is worsened by conflict, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have exacerbated existing flaws and fragilities in the global food system. Also, food inflation has put people under tremendous strain, and supply chain interruptions continue to slow humanitarian operations and disrupt local and regional markets. The impact of this crisis could last for months or even years.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and their global partners are providing immediate conflict-sensitive responses to the ongoing global food crisis alongside activities designed to address the underlying causes of food insecurity, enhance social cohesion and improve community resilience.
The number of people facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity has risen by 35% since 2021 and is now affecting 258 million people across 58 countries and territories. This means that, at best, families are depleting essential livelihood assets or taking on desperate coping strategies.
Every day, people must answer questions of survival: Do I leave home to find work and food? Do I skip meals so my children can eat? Do I trust a stranger for help?
Areas of urgent concern include east Africa and the Sahel, a semiarid region in western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to Sudan. East Africa – particularly Somalia – is enduring the worst drought in 40 years, leading to severe hunger and malnutrition. In the Sahel, the crisis has also led to worsening conflict and mass displacement.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network predicts that by December, Yemen, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan will have the greatest number of people in need of humanitarian food assistance in Africa.
CRS is working with 579 local partners across the world to respond to immediate needs and strengthen resilience. They recognize the urgent need to prevent famine and the devastation of livelihoods and to prioritize localized cooperative approaches that enhance social cohesion and a community’s ability to respond to future crises. They design their priority efforts so that:
• People have sufficient, equitable access to quality, nutritious food and enough nutrition for their bodies to absorb the food they eat.
• From producer to consumer, global and local food systems – including crop and livestock production, food processing, transportation, functioning markets and security – enable sustainable access to nutritious food.
CRS is investing strategic funds in efforts that focus on underlying causes of the food crisis, including:
• Rehabilitation of landscapes and adaptation to climate change in fragile environments.
• Market systems that ensure families can access the nutrition they need.
• Data systems that provide accurate and timely information needed to deliver food, track markets and identify vulnerable communities.
The global food crisis has demonstrated how interconnected our food and market systems are. When one part of the system breaks down, the whole is no longer healthy. A war in one region of the world might result in starvation in another.
CRS recognizes that transformational change starts with a healthy local market system. This includes healthy landscapes in which food and livelihoods can flourish; proactive programming that prepares communities for crisis; safe, affordable and equitable access to food; and healthy bodies that can absorb the food they eat.
When one of these components collapses, the foundation of people’s stability and well-being fractures, placing communities at even greater risk.
Shifting the paradigm starts with investing in local food systems to address the root causes at their source. With more sustainable farming practices, farmers can restore their land to produce more food, which in turn increases their income and allows their families to grow healthy and strong. (Resource: www.crs.org/stories/global-emergency-update-july-2023)
In the United States, CRS is advancing legislative priorities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of international food assistance. With investment in local farmers and their land and markets, conservation and livelihoods can be transformed and reverse the trend of global hunger and food crises, with nourished land and lives.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Catholic Charities USA and CRS have worked closely to support policies in the 2023 Farm Bill in the U.S. Congress that support rural communities and family farms; strengthen and expand domestic anti-hunger programs; promote conservation and good stewardship of the land; ensure safe living and working conditions for farmworkers; promote fairness for farmers in developing countries; and provide food security aid efficiently and effectively to hungry people worldwide.
Consider advocating on behalf of the Farm Bill by going to: https://www.votervoice.net/USCCB/Campaigns/106852/Respond. For additional information about the impact of the Farm Bill, go to: www.crs.org/sites/default/files/send_ahead_farm_bill.pdf.
Prayerfully consider supporting CRS’ efforts to transform the current (and future) global food crises at https://support.crs.org/donate. If you have questions or need additional information, contact Erin Cordle, associate director, Office for Social Concerns of the Columbus diocese, at [email protected].
