Global Report on Food Crises 2021

The GNFC works to understand food crises, leverage strategic investments, and foster coordination across sectors. The report provides global and regional overviews of food crises (including a forecast for 2021). Additionally, it offers 34 country-level outlines of significant problems. Hence, it highlights the high severity and numbers of people in crisis. Especially persistent conflict, pre-existing and COVID-19-related economic shocks, and weather extremes are main drivers. Remarkably, the number of crises identified is the highest in the report’s five-year existence.

The report points out that its magnitude and severity worsened in 2020 as protracted conflict, the economic fallout of COVID-19 and weather extremes exacerbated pre-existing frailties. They forecast a grim outlook for 2021, with the threat of famine persisting for some of the world’s worst food crises.

In particular, “conflict, insecurity and weather extremes will lead to further increases in the number of forcibly displaced households – both for those fleeing across borders or being displaced within their own country.” Unsurprisingly, displaced people face precarious conditions marked by limited opportunities. They are socioeconomically excluded and lack access to social safety nets.