The vast majority of the world's undernourished people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These regions account for the largest absolute numbers of individuals suffering from hunger due to widespread poverty, conflict, and climate challenges.
Beyond these broad regions, certain countries experience the most acute levels of hunger, indicating a high prevalence of undernourishment within their populations. These are the nations where the crisis of undernourishment is most severe and concentrated.
Countries with the Highest Levels of Undernourishment
Global assessments consistently highlight specific countries that are disproportionately affected by extreme hunger and food insecurity. While they may not contain the largest total number of undernourished people globally, they show the highest intensity or prevalence of undernourishment among their populations.
These countries are identified as having the most severe levels of hunger:
- Haiti: This Caribbean nation frequently faces humanitarian crises, including the impacts of natural disasters, political instability, and deep economic fragility, leading to chronic food shortages.
- Mali: Located in West Africa's Sahel region, it is grappling with ongoing conflict, significant population displacement, and severe environmental challenges such as recurrent droughts.
- Sudan: An East African country experiencing prolonged internal conflict, political instability, and severe economic crises, resulting in widespread displacement and a dire food security situation.
- South Sudan: One of the world's newest nations, it continues to endure persistent civil conflict, extreme natural hazards like floods and droughts, and widespread economic collapse, leading to profound food shortages and humanitarian emergencies.
- Occupied Palestinian Territories: This region faces complex challenges including restrictions on movement, economic blockades, and political instability that severely impede access to food and sustainable livelihoods for many residents.
| Country |
|---|
| Haiti |
| Mali |
| Sudan |
| South Sudan |
| Occupied Palestinian Territories |
Understanding the Factors Behind Concentrated Hunger
The critical levels of undernourishment in these specific countries are often linked to a devastating combination of severe and overlapping crises that erode people's ability to feed themselves:
- Protracted Conflict and Violence: War and internal strife disrupt agricultural production, destroy infrastructure, sever supply chains, and forcibly displace populations, making it impossible for communities to access food or earn a living.
- Climate Shocks and Environmental Degradation: Extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts, devastating floods, and unpredictable rainfall patterns destroy crops, decimate livestock, and degrade arable land, particularly in economies heavily reliant on agriculture.
- Economic Collapse and Extreme Poverty: High rates of inflation, widespread unemployment, and the absence of adequate social safety nets mean that many households simply cannot afford nutritious food, even when it is available.
- Limited Access to Humanitarian Aid: Political barriers, geographical isolation, and inadequate infrastructure can hinder the timely and effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and essential services to those most in need.
These complex, interconnected factors perpetuate cycles of food insecurity, making targeted humanitarian assistance and sustainable development efforts critically important for alleviating hunger in these most affected areas.
