In 2023, 281.6 million people in 59 countries facing food crises, or 21.5% of the analyzed population, were severely food insecure, the 2024 Global Report on Food Crisis said.
This figure shows an increase of 24 million people from 2022, the report said, due to increased coverage of the analysis as well as worsening acute food insecurity in some countries outweighing improvements in others.
"Acute food insecurity deteriorated in 12 countries with comparable data between 2022 and 2023, where 13.5 million more people needed urgent assistance, mostly in Sudan," the report said.
The top five countries with the largest number of people experiencing severe food insecurity are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan, Afghanistan and Sudan, while Palestine, South Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Haiti have the largest proportion of the analyzed population experiencing high levels of hunger, according to the GNAFC.
"Burkina Faso, Somalia, South Sudan and Mali also had populations facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity in 2023," the report read.
Acute malnutrition among children and women has continued to worsen, particularly in conflict-affected areas. In 2023, more than 36 million children under the age of five were acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million who were acutely stunted, in 32 food crisis countries for which data are available, according to the organization.
Conflicts, weather extremes, and economic shocks are the main drivers behind acute hunger worldwide, the report revealed.
The GNAFC also said that the effects of the El Niño natural phenomenon, which peaked in early 2024 and led to floods in East Africa and droughts in Southern Africa, are likely to be felt throughout the year, with positive contributions to food security in East Africa and Latin American countries.
Food security improved in 17 countries in 2023, including Mauritania and Uganda, resulting in 7.2 million fewer people experiencing acute food insecurity, according to the report.