The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the global issue of food insecurity. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, food prices in January rose to the highest they’ve ever been in the last 10 years. 

COVID-19 took out 15 years of progress in reducing world hunger across the globe. “It is estimated that between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020.” This is at least a 118 million person increase from 2019, reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The World Bank built upon this data and concluded that “nearly 2.37 billion people (or 30% of the global population) lacked access to adequate food in 2020 – a rise of 320 million in just one year.”

When the pandemic first hit in 2020, food production and raw material facilities had to close on a large scale. Thus many countries saw their production of resources plummet. With a low food supply, and people stuck at home, demand could not be met which led to higher food prices. In areas that already struggle with food insecurity, these higher rates have driven millions of people into poverty and famine. 

As of 2021, 45 million men, women, and children are now on the brink of famine. Rising 3 million from 2020, and from 27 million from 2019. Before the pandemic, in some parts of Africa and Latin America, vulnerable households spent over 50% of their income on food, with food prices higher than ever, they have been forced into starvation.

The United Nations has launched several initiatives to combat world hunger. One of the most recent being the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge. The pledge asks companies to commit to ending world hunger by 2030 by investing in one of the 10 high impact areas. As of December 0f last year, 43 companies have signed onto this pledge and donated over 390 million dollars.