ISLAMABAD: Only 47 per cent of hunger funding needs through the UN humanitarian system are met, leaving a hunger funding gap of 53 per cent, according to the Action Against Hunger 2023 Hunger Funding Gap Report released on Wednesday.

The report also found that countries experiencing the worst hunger crisis received less hunger funding (by the percentage of appeals filed) than countries with lower rates of hunger.

The report, based on 2022 data recorded this month, was driven from the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) financial tracking service. This yielded a list of 13 countries, which are the focus of the report, including Pakistan.

While overall funding rose slightly in 2022, support was spread even thinner as needs grew. In 2022, only 3 per cent of hunger programme needs were fully funded and the majority (65 per cent) of appeals were not even fulfilled to the halfway point. In 2021, seven per cent of hunger programmes were fully funded and 57pc were not funded halfway. Zero nutrition-related appeals were fully funded in 2022, down from 15pc in 2021.

Countries experiencing the worst hunger crisis received less funding

The Action Against Hunger report was issued shortly before the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, which increased the cost of food, fertiliser, and energy. One in three households in Ukraine are estimated to be food insecure, and the war also has had far-reaching ripple effects.

Approximately 828 million people, one in 10 worldwide, are undernourished and as many as 50 million people in 45 countries are on the verge of famine.

For the report, Action Against Hunger identified 13 countries that experienced “crisis” levels of hunger or worse in 2021 and analysed how much funding those countries subsequently received, both for ongoing and emergency hunger-related programmes in 2022.

The report draws on food insecurity data from 2021 to show what funding decisions are made after donors see where hunger is greatest. “Hunger is a complex issue and funding is just part of what it will take to end hunger in our lifetimes. Yet, after working for more than 40 years across 50 nations, including all of the countries analysed in this report, we know that closing the hunger funding gap is a critical step,” said Director of External Relations, Action Against Hunger, Eric Bebernitz.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2023