NARRATIVE REPORT ON FOOD ASSISTANCE BY MEMBERS OF THE
FOOD ASSISTANCE CONVENTION
ANNUAL REPORT
2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2023, the number of people in a state of acute food insecurity and chronic hunger once more surpassed previous records: according to the Global Report on Food Crises 2023, more than 281 million people in 59 countries were dependent on humanitarian food assistance to cover even their most basic food needs (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above). This translates to an increase of almost 25 million people compared to 2022.
Conflict, economic shocks, natural disasters, climate change and its consequences continued to exacerbate pre-existing fragilities and drive food needs around the world. A notable trend in 2023 and the preceding years is that the influence of weather extremes as primary driver of food insecurity increases rapidly and leaves more and more people in a state of chronic hunger and malnutrition. These developments, coupled with the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in autumn of 2023 with all its implications, as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine, resulted in an ever-increasing inability for vulnerable communities to access food.
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