Poverty, conflict, natural disasters, poor infrastructure, limited knowledge and water scarcity are leading causes of hunger.
Hunger endangers children the most, especially those living in poverty.
To fight hunger, Compassion is vigilant to protect children from malnutrition, providing emergency food access, WaSH initiatives and other care that fits each child’s unique needs.
We’ve all felt a growling belly, a telltale sign that it’s time to eat. Many of us just grab a snack, but for millions, the rumble doesn’t go away. Instead, hunger becomes chronic, harming their health and well-being.
According to the most recent data, 1 in 11 people worldwide, including children, faced hunger in 2023. — WHO
The devastation of world hunger has many causes. And some of them might surprise you.
6 Leading Causes of Hunger Around the World
1. Poverty
Poverty is the root cause of hunger worldwide. While the economic definition of extreme poverty is living on less than $3.00 per day, true poverty goes so much deeper. Instead, it means to be overwhelmed by need in every area of life.
Families who live on just a few dollars a day must make impossible decisions. Do they buy food or pay for shelter? A warm meal or supplies to send their little ones to school? Medicine for the baby’s fever or rice for a few days?
Unable to afford what they need, these families must choose. And often, food is the sacrifice. One meal a day is normal for families in poverty, and some may only eat every couple of days. Sadly, this just isn’t enough to keep anyone — especially children — full or healthy.
2. Conflict
While poverty is the root cause of hunger, conflict is one of the top reasons families struggle to access food daily. According to the World Food Program USA, 60% of those hungry globally live in countries affected by conflict.
Conflicts like wars destroy infrastructure like roads, preventing communities from getting supplies. They wipe away precious land where crops grow and families earn incomes to feed their children. And it displaces families, forcing them to leave their homes and the groceries and gardens they have there.
3. Natural Disasters
Thousands of natural disasters strike every year. These extreme events range from earthquakes and hurricanes to droughts and floods. In fact, flooding is the most common disaster.
These natural disasters eliminate food sources in an instant. For example, events like earthquakes can destroy roads and bridges, preventing the transport of food, especially in rural areas. And floods can wash away homes and belongings, including critical food resources.
More widespread events like severe droughts dry up crops and kill livestock, the main source of food and income for families in Africa, Asia and other places around the world.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 55 million people globally are affected by droughts every year.
4. Lack of Infrastructure
Chances are, you’ve seen a delivery truck out on the road today. You may have even gone to a grocery store to buy fresh food for your fridge. In some places around the world, this isn’t the norm.
Some communities suffer from poor road conditions or no roads at all, making transporting food to those who need it a challenge. Even if a nearby area has a surplus, sharing it is impossible.
Typical grocery stores can’t operate in these areas because they can’t get food deliveries and lack necessities like electricity for proper refrigeration. Families must rely on local markets or grow their own food to feed themselves. But when conflict or disaster happens, it makes this impossible, meaning there’s no food to be found.
5. Limited Knowledge & Tools
Many families farm and raise animals on their own, a sustainable way to bring in income and food for their households. But what about those who don’t have the knowledge or tools to do so?
Raising chickens or growing veggies takes specialized skills that many don’t have. But even before skill, you must be able to afford animals or seeds. You must have water and enough space to raise and plant — luxuries many can’t afford.
While growing crops and raising livestock can lift families out of hunger and support their communities, limited skills and resources keep those options out of reach.
6. Water Scarcity
Water scarcity is when a region doesn’t have enough water for everyone who calls it home.
One in 4 people globally can’t access safe drinking water, according to the World Health Organization.
Water scarcity can both cause and worsen hunger. For example, a lack of water destroys crops and prevents livestock from thriving, putting food sources at risk.
Without water, families must turn to unsafe water sources for drinking, cooking and hygiene. Sadly, this leads to illnesses like diarrhea that keep bodies from absorbing the nutrients needed for nourishment, worsening hunger and malnutrition.
The Impact of Hunger on Children in Poverty
Children are the most vulnerable to hunger. According to UNICEF, tens of millions of children under age 5 suffer from acute malnutrition globally.
Children need nutritious food to grow and thrive. Without it, they suffer from stunting or impaired growth. They’re also at greater risk of infection and disease. Many hungry children also suffer from impaired speech and cognitive ability, as well as chronic illnesses like diabetes.
Child poverty causes child hunger — and worsens its effects. For example, poverty makes getting medical care difficult if not impossible. If a child gets sick due to malnutrition, they may not have the medicine or care they need to get well again.
Compassion’s Response to Child Hunger
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” — Matthew 25:35, NIV
As followers of Jesus, we’re called to care for the hungry around us. Compassion partners with local churches in communities where child hunger is widespread, serving those in desperate need.
Support may look different depending on the unique needs of children in each community, so we work to fight hunger in several ways.
Emergency food access: In places of disaster or crisis, we provide emergency food support such as food packs, chock-full of basics like rice, eggs and milk to families in need.
Skills training and resources: Compassion offers the education and resources families need to raise livestock like goats and chickens. We provide seeds for growing flourishing crops.With these resources, families can build an income and grow nourishing food for their children. Through new partnerships with organizations like ECHO, we’re working to empower families with sustainable farming methods that provide long-term nourishment and well-being.
WaSH initiatives: Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) initiatives help bring safe water to communities in need. At Compassion, we provide critical infrastructure like water wells, filtration systems and even rainwater harvesting systems. With safe water, families can plant, raise animals and stay healthy, fighting back against the effects of hunger.
Malnutrition monitoring and intervention: Children in our child sponsorship program are regularly monitored for malnutrition. If something is wrong in any of these checks, they’re quickly given the care they need, such as therapeutic feeding and vitamin supplements. Compassion also provides each child with a yearly medical checkup, ensuring they’re growing as God intended.
Nutritious meals and education: At Compassion centers, we offer children nutritious meals and snacks. Caregivers and families also receive nutrition education, helping them serve meals at home that meet children’s nutritional needs.
From Hunger to Overflowing With Hope in Burkina Faso
Right now, the world is facing the largest food crisis in history. In Burkina Faso, 2.3 million people suffer from acute hunger. It’s a feeling Madeleine remembers well.
Food Crisis in Burkina Faso
Madeleine’s family struggled to find enough to eat even before the food crisis hit their home. Madeleine’s husband had suffered a devastating traffic accident, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury. And having a physical disability herself, finding enough food for three meals a day was difficult for Madeleine.
“My husband is now sick and unable to work. When we grow crops, we eat everything within two months. The rest of the year, we struggle to find food.” — Madeleine
While the two worked tirelessly to grow crops, it was far from enough for the year. Often, Madeleine would have to scrape up what little money she had to buy something, anything, to feed her children.
“Once, I used the little money I had to buy two small plates of grain at the market. I didn’t know where the next meal would come from. It is very difficult for a mother to see her children crying for food.” — Madeleine
To stretch the family’s food supply, Madeleine would only cook once a day, leaving their bellies growling often. For Mireille, Madeleine’s daughter, hunger made it hard to focus in school. With each passing day, she felt her dream of becoming a doctor slowly fading away.
Overflowing Hope With Aid From Compassion
When Mireille was registered at the Compassion center, she began receiving consistent food support, even at home.
On the day Madeleine used the very last of her grain, there was a knock at the door. When she opened it, there stood a Compassion center staff member, hands full of supplies.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when Rodrigue from the center showed up with bags of corn, rice, cooking oil and even soap. My cup was empty, and the center filled it to overflowing with joy and hope. They came exactly at the right time.” — Madeleine
Now, Madeleine and Mireille cook nutritious meals together in their kitchen. Instead of only once, smoke rises from the family’s small mud-brick kitchen at least three times a day.
Mireille is thriving in school too. Now in her first year of secondary school, her dream of becoming a doctor feels closer than ever before.
The support the family received didn’t stop at food. The Compassion center delivered financial support for Madeleine to grow a hairdressing business. Every morning, after cooking for her children, she rides her tricycle to the local market. Here, she sets up her station, serves customers and builds lasting income.
“I was so happy to receive help to grow my salon. I bought hairdressing supplies so I can work and sell more. A client pays about one dollar per hairstyle, and some days, none come, but now I have something stable to build on.” — Madeleine
While the food crisis continues to impact families in Burkina Faso and beyond, the local church continues to bring hope too. While Madeleine’s family was once helplessly hungry, they’re now full of hope for the future. And it’s all because of those willing to share the gospel in action — feeding hungry bellies and souls.
Poverty. Conflict. Disaster. Poor infrastructure. Limited knowledge. Unsafe water. While the causes of hunger may seem overwhelming, there’s hope. Compassion, the local church and supporters like you are working together to feed those in desperate need around the world, one child at a time.
