One of the most damaging effects of conflict is hunger, though it’s not always obvious.
On the outside, the world may see photos of homes being razed, and the destruction of vital infrastructure, but miss how much nutrition each person loses daily. We may hear about families fleeing violence in search of safety but not realize how many meals they’re missing or leaving behind.
According to the World Food Programme, 65% of the 309 million people who are acutely food insecure live in fragile or conflict-affected areas. Many of these individuals have lost their homes and livelihoods, as well as loved ones, to violence; women and girls in conflict situations can be disproportionately affected, often going more hungry than men.
Global Citizens can take action to address the worst effects of conflict on people’s lives, including helping these incredible organizations dedicated to delivering food aid to communities, assisting farmers, and helping people get back on their feet.
Check out our list of eight organizations on the frontlines of ending famine in conflict zones and how you can take action to support their efforts.
#1: World Food Programme
The United Nations-sponsored World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, providing emergency food assistance to communities in crisis. In 2020, it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Its focus on delivering nutritious meals and funding agriculture programs, particularly in conflict hotspots, allowed the organization to provide over 100 million people with food, cash, and other humanitarian aid last year.
One of the areas where WFP works is Sudan, where conflict has been ongoing for over a decade. The organization reports that over 25 million people in Sudan are experiencing crisis levels of hunger — and the communities most at risk of famine are those where the conflict is most active.
WFP has reached over 3 million people in Sudan this year alone, with a goal of delivering vital aid to an additional 5 million people. However, as with other regions where WFP works, the organization requires more sustained collaboration and funding from donor governments to expand the reach of its emergency programs.
#2: Action Against Hunger
Operating over the past 40 years across 55 countries, Action Against Hunger addresses every aspect of the hunger crisis. In 1993, the organization developed the first-ever therapeutic formula, recognized as a game-changer for treating severely malnourished children. Today, Action Against Hunger’s programs range from teaching parents and community health workers how to address early signs of malnutrition to providing critical food aid during emergencies.
In their May 2023 report, No Matter Who’s Fighting, Hunger Always Wins, Action Against Hunger outlined how conflict compounds issues like economic instability and climate change, driving hunger levels higher. In conflict-affected regions like Somalia, the organization supported more than 1.1 million people who experienced forced displacement and food insecurity last year.
Donate to Action Against Hunger here.
#3: Food and Agriculture Organization
Funded by UN member nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an intergovernmental agency established to tackle world hunger and malnutrition. The organization recognizes that conflict is the primary driver of hunger and famine and brings targeted aid to conflict-ridden areas of the world.
The FAO has recently named Haiti as a country of “highest concern” due to increasing violence and conflict. Attacks from non-state armed groups have forced over 580,000 people to become internally displaced, disrupting agricultural supply chains and local food availability across the country.
FAO’s efforts to address famine in conflict zones rely solely on funding from government partners. In Haiti, with this support, the organization provided 18,500 households (over 90,000 people) with emergency agricultural support in 2023, such as handing out crop seeds, tools, poultry, and livestock. This allows families to feed themselves and sell excess food to their communities.
#4: UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in over 190 countries with the mission to advocate for the protection of children’s rights and to help meet their basic needs. As part of their mission, UNICEF funds emergency response programs to address food crises caused by conflict.
Almost half of all deaths of children under five are linked to malnutrition. UNICEF fights undernutrition caused by food crises by procuring and delivering three-quarters of the world’s ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), a high-calorie, shelf-stable, easily digestible food for children that reverses malnutrition.
For example, RUTF is being used to fight wasting and undernutrition in a UNICEF-sponsored camp in Nigeria for people displaced by local armed conflict, where violence has directly contributed to food insecurity for children.
#5: The Hunger Project
While many organizations recognize the disproportionate effects of hunger on women and girls, The Hunger Project stands out for its emphasis on supporting women through a grassroots approach to hunger relief. The organization’s Epicenter Strategy empowers women changemakers across Africa to create self-sustaining communities that improve nutrition, education, sanitation, and other obstacles to health.
Working with community partners in Burkina Faso since 1997, the organization’s country-specific program addresses the effects of conflict on hunger. While the nation’s political instability has greatly contributed to rising food insecurity — leading more than 3 million people to the brink of starvation — The Hunger Project is helping tens of thousands of smallholder farmers learn sustainable farming techniques and receive training in financial services.
The nonprofit relies on donations to support the launch of sustainable food systems in regions experiencing conflict.
Donate to The Hunger Project here.
#6: Oxfam
An alliance of 21 NGOs dedicated to ending poverty and injustice, Oxfam operates across 85 countries to provide hunger relief. The confederation’s large scale has allowed it to maintain a presence in regions regularly affected by conflict. Oxfam funds local agricultural initiatives and provides emergency services, which prepares communities living in conflict zones with the skills and resources they need to fight food insecurity.
In all areas of conflict where Oxfam works, the organization partners with local NGOs to improve access to clean water and sanitation and provide cash to help people buy daily essentials. Since October 2023, the organization has worked with local organizations to distribute cash, food, and hygiene items to people in Gaza, where nearly the entire population faces high food insecurity.
#7: CARE
Funded through a mix of private donations and government grants, CARE is working to defeat poverty by distributing food aid, hosting nutritional programs, and improving clean water infrastructure across conflict-affected regions. CARE focuses on women’s leadership, especially in emergencies, because crisis response can reinforce gender inequality.
In places like Syria, where more than 10 years of conflict have led to one of the largest displacement crises in the world, CARE fights food insecurity through numerous types of emergency assistance. Working with an array of local partners, they offer livestock programs, cash vouchers, food baskets, kitchen supplies, and other types of relief while working to strengthen community resilience and rebuild livelihoods. CARE is also present in Myanmar, another area with a long-running conflict, and through a gender equality lens, provides nutritional support for children and pregnant women, support for farmers, and health education.
#8: International Fund for Agricultural Development
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a UN agency that works to combat hunger in fragile regions of the world, especially those battered by conflict. As with other hunger relief organizations, IFAD provides emergency food aid to countries in crisis. However, the organization’s investment in sustainable rural food systems in developing countries ensures that people can support themselves long after humanitarian aid has moved on. To date, IFAD has provided $22.6 billion in loans and grants to support community agriculture and empower individuals to grow their own food.
In response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, for example, the organization launched a crisis response initiative to help farmers adapt to fragile situations, such as those intensified by the dual crises of conflict and climate change. Since many Ukrainian farmers are responsible for food exports to other countries, IFAD’s funding initiative can fight food insecurity within Ukraine and in developing nations such as Somalia, Afghanistan, and Yemen, which rely on the country for food access.
IFAD has called for donors to increase their financial contributions to address the alarmingly high status of hunger levels around the world. You can check out the latest pledges here.
What Global Citizens Can Do
Many of the above organizations rely on government funding to support their nutrition programs, but substantial funding gaps have prevented them from meeting 100% of their needs.
In addition to donating directly to organizations feeding communities worldwide, you can take action with Global Citizen to ensure that world leaders prioritize addressing the hunger crisis.