For those living in high-income countries like Australia, it’s sometimes difficult to gauge how you can make a difference to the lives of those in low and middle-income countries when an issue like food insecurity arises or worsens. The 2022 Global Report on Food Crises revealed that 193 million people across 53 countries or territories were facing hunger crises in 2021. So, it’s clear to see that this is a problem that needs to be addressed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
It is also estimated that up to 49 million people across 46 countries could be at risk of famine or famine-like conditions without immediate life and livelihood-saving assistance. This includes approximately 750,000 people that are already classified by the Acute Food Insecurity Scale as being in the catastrophe/famine phase.
What is the Acute Food Insecurity Scale?
The Acute Food Insecurity Scale is one of three scales created by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (or IPC) to classify the severity and magnitude of food insecurity and acute malnutrition. This scale looks at food insecurity that is found at a certain point in time and of a certain severity that is threatening lives and/or livelihoods (regardless of causes, context or duration).
This scale in particular has identified five phases:
- None / Minimal
This phase relates to households being able to meet essential food and non-food needs without having to use unsustainable practices to be able to access food and income. - Stressed
This phase relates to households that have minimally adequate food consumption but are unable to afford some essential non-food needs without short-term stress-coping solutions. - Crisis
The crisis phase refers to households either having food consumption gaps that are reflected by higher-than-usual acute malnutrition or only marginally able to meet minimum food needs through depleting essential livelihood assets/stress-coping solutions. - Emergency
This phase relates to households that either have large food consumption gaps that are reflected in very high acute malnutrition and excess mortality, or are only able to mitigate large food consumption gaps through emergency livelihood solutions and asset liquidation. - Catastrophe / Famine
This phase relates to households having an extreme lack of food and/or other basic needs, even after full employment of coping strategies. Starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident.
Which Countries Are the Most At Risk?
The Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme have issued a warning calling for urgent humanitarian action in 20 hunger hotspots around the world. These countries and regions are those that are likely to experience a worsening situation in relation to acute food insecurity (identified using the Acute Food Insecurity Scale), which will put the lives and livelihoods of those living there at high risk.
While all countries that are listed as being within the catastrophe/famine stage require humanitarian action, there are currently a number of countries in which urgent humanitarian action is critical to prevent starvation and death, including:
- Afghanistan
- Ethiopia
- Nigeria
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Yemen
What Are Australian Charities Doing to Help?
Tearfund Australia is one charitable organisation that is working to restore food and livelihoods with 41 partners and a range of projects across 17 countries (as of December 2021). With focuses on agriculture, organic kitchen gardens and livelihood training, donations are used to help those in need through reinventing the way they live. This includes providing families and individuals with pet chickens and goats, seeds and tools, as well as food.
Caritas Australia, a charity working alongside the most vulnerable to make a difference, is approaching this crisis with a focus on the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa is a region in the east of the continent, in which ongoing drought has left 18 million people facing severe hunger. Donations to Caritas’ initiative are used in collaboration with its partners to assist in supporting communities throughout countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Eritrea.
Anglican Overseas Aid is tackling the food/hunger crisis with an early focus on Eastern Africa. This charity uses donations to provide emergency food and nutrition, health services, water, sanitation and agricultural support to communities in need.
Act For Peace Australia are currently lobbying to encourage the Australian government to contribute to funding in countries where hunger is rife, including some of those listed above, as well as Myanmar and Syria. This organisation is currently planning to use donations to scale-up initiatives in countries experiencing the worst of the global food crisis.
2 Ways You Can Help Fight the Hunger Crisis from Australia
There are a number of ways that Australians can help fight the hunger crisis from right here at home while supporting local charities. With a range of organisations assisting, it’s important to make sure you’re giving efficiently and ensuring your contribution is making a meaningful difference in addressing these issues.
#1 Donate to Local Organisations Making a Difference
Our member organisations are dedicated to making a difference from Australia, which is why they have all agreed to fund our running costs in return for our fundraising activities and fund distribution to ensure they can carry out their important work. Many of the members of the Emergency Action Alliance have different focuses, which means the funds we raise can be distributed as efficiently as possible and help aid targeted responses to international emergencies.
With the work happening across all member organisations to tackle the global food crisis, Australians can help provide for people in need. Some organisations work to provide people with farm animals, seeds and tools to help boost independent food sources that aren’t reliant on the global supply chain, while others offer financial aid and fund the distribution of food packages or deliveries to ensure individuals and families don’t have to go without.
#2 Write a Letter to Your Local Member of Parliament
As mentioned above, Act for Peace Australia is lobbying to ensure Australia’s federal government makes a financial contribution towards helping reduce the effects of the global food crisis. The more letters that are written to local members of parliament around Australia, the more likely this issue will be a topic of discussion for politicians around the country.
Writing letters to your local member of parliament will help them recognise that the global food crisis is an issue that is important to the people in their area, which increases the likelihood of the issue being raised and supported by the government. You can find your local member of parliament and an editable pre-written letter here.
Make Your Mark with the Emergency Action Alliance
If you’re eager to ensure your money goes towards causes and activities that are making a meaningful difference in countries where food insecurity and hunger are rising, a donation to the Emergency Action Alliance goes a long way. We’ll do the work to ensure your donation is distributed amongst charitable organisations that need it in order to carry out specific activities on the ground in a range of countries.
For more information, feel free to give us a call on 1300 939 000 or contact us online. Otherwise, if you’re ready to make your mark, you can donate to one of our members’ Global Food Crisis appeals online.
Find out more how you can make a difference here:
