Hunger is one of the most pressing issues facing humanity today. While there has never been more food in the world, more people than ever before are going hungry. Aggravated by climate change, humanitarian crises and rising inequality, hunger touches the lives of families on every continent.
Here, we explain what hunger is, how it affects the body, who is most at risk, and what Islamic Relief is doing to support people suffering from hunger in Gaza, Sudan, and beyond.
What is hunger?
Hunger is more than simply not feeling full. It is being deprived of the food and nutrients the human body needs to sustain itself. For the fortunate, hunger is only a temporary discomfort, but for millions of others it can be a lifelong and even fatal condition.
How does food insecurity and famine relate to hunger?
Food insecurity and famine are causes of hunger. Food insecurity describes a situation where people lack access to safe, nutritious food. This is often due to climate issues, poverty or humanitarian crises, as in places like Gaza and Sudan today.
Famine is the most severe, life-threatening level of food insecurity. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), famine is officially declared when at least 20% of households face extreme food shortages, 30% of children suffer acute malnutrition, and mortality rates exceed 2 people per 10,000 daily.
What is malnutrition? Is it different from starvation?
Malnutrition is when the body does not get the nutrients it needs to function properly from its diet.
Millions in crises across the world are suffering from acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition caused by a sudden, severe, and short-term lack of food, resulting in rapid weight loss (wasting) or nutritional edema (swelling, particularly of the feet, legs, and hands).
The most severe form of malnutrition is starvation – the total absence of food which leads to rapid and life-threatening organ failure and death.
What are the effects of hunger?
Hunger can produce severe physical and mental effects, including fatigue, weakened immunity, and cognitive decline.
Within a few days without food, the body breaks down muscle tissue and protein to meet the brain’s glucose demands, leading to weakness and diminished bone density.
Malnutrition weakens the immune system, making the body highly vulnerable to waterborne diseases and infections — such as cholera and measles — which are frequent causes of death during a hunger crisis. If the condition persists, the body breaks down its own organs for fuel, leading to multiple organ failure and cardiac arrest.
Food insecurity also causes psychological distress. There is evidence of a link between food deprivation and both anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, even after a family gains food security.
How does hunger impact children?
Children are far more vulnerable to the effects of hunger than adults as their bodies have not yet fully developed. Their still-developing immune systems make it more likely for children to fall sick. One of the reasons famines are so deadly is not just because of hunger, but also because of the prevalence of and vulnerability to illness.
The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are the most critical for physical and cognitive development. If a child faces severe hunger during this window, it can lead to permanent stunting (impaired growth) and wasting (dangerously low weight), as well as cognitive impairment and compromised organ function. These effects often follow a child into adulthood, increasing the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and reducing their future productivity
Does hunger impact men and women equally?
Globally, women are more affected by hunger, making up about 60% of chronically hungry people. This gap is driven by deep-rooted gender inequality which worsens during crises.
Women are more likely to live in extreme poverty, earn less than men, and have less control over resources. In many cultures, social norms often dictate that women and girls eat after men and children, receiving smaller portions.
Food scarcity can force women to adopt desperate, high-risk coping mechanisms, increasing risks of gender-based violence, transactional sex, and early/forced marriage as families struggle to survive.
Hunger is also a key cause of forced migration. While entire families are often displaced together, in many cases, fathers and older sons leave home to search for work in other cities or across borders. This leaves women to manage the household and protect children alone in highly insecure environments, creating immense challenges for those left behind.
How big a problem is hunger worldwide?
Hunger is a massive and worsening global crisis, with an estimated 673 million people facing hunger in 2024, according to the World Health Organization.
The goal of reaching ‘Zero Hunger’ by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal 2) is considered impossible if current trends continue. Projections indicate that at the current pace of progress, it could take until 2137 to reach low hunger levels worldwide.
Which countries are suffering food shortages?
Families on every continent are experiencing hunger, with many wealthy countries seeing sharp increases in the numbers of people accessing food banks, and famines declared by the IPC in several territories.
The Covid-19 pandemic, disruptions to global food supply networks caused by the war in Ukraine, and the rising cost of living worldwide have contributed to increased food insecurity.
The situation is worsening in Africa, where more than 20% of the population – 307 million people – were facing under in 2024, the WHO reported.
Sudan and Gaza are experiencing the most severe crises, with confirmed or imminent famine conditions, while Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, and parts of Asia are also suffering from severe food insecurity.
What is the situation in Gaza?
Gaza is in a state of extreme humanitarian crisis, despite a ceasefire that took effect on 10 October 2025. While no longer experiencing famine as of late 2025, the situation in Gaza remains enormously fragile, with nearly the entire population facing severe food insecurity.
Approximately 1.6 million people (77% of the population) are facing ‘crisis’ levels of hunger (IPC Phase 3) or worse.
Over 571,000 people remain in ‘emergency’ conditions (Phase 4), and roughly 1,900 people continue to face ‘catastrophe-level’ hunger (Phase 5).
What is the situation in Sudan?
Sudan is experiencing the world’s largest hunger crisis. As of February 2026, famine conditions are spreading, and nearly half the population — over 21 million people —faces acute food insecurity.
Famine was officially confirmed in El Fasher (North Darfur) and Kadugli (South Kordofan) in late 2025, and on 5 February 2026, the UN warned that famine thresholds for acute malnutrition were surpassed in Um Baru and Kernoi (North Darfur).
In Um Baru, 53% of children under 5 suffer from acute malnutrition — nearly double the famine threshold.
At least 20 other areas across Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan are at immediate risk of famine through May 2026, according to the UN.
What is Islamic Relief doing to feed the hungry?
Islamic Relief provides food to people in need through a variety of programmes, including emergency life-saving aid in crisis zones such as Gaza and Sudan, seasonal programmes such as Ramadan and qurbani, which run in tens of countries worldwide each year, and long-term sustainable programmes designed to address the root causes of hunger.
In partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), Islamic Relief has cooked and distributed over 75 million hot meals in Gaza since October 2023. We are also providing vegetable packs and dry food parcels to families, as well as offering emergency cash grants so families can buy whatever they need most when it’s available and support local markets in the process.
In Sudan, we are supporting Takaaya, volunteer-run community kitchens, which are often the only source of food in besieged areas like Darfur and Khartoum. Despite severe access challenges, we have reached over 1.5 million people in Sudan with food packs and nutritional support for malnourished children.
Please donate to our Sudan and Palestine emergency appeals today to feed those facing hunger. Your generosity is the difference between life and starvation.
