Emergency Launched: Help Families Facing Famine

In June of 2021, the World Food Program (WFP) warned that up to 41 million people in 43 countries are at imminent risk of famine, with nearly 600,000 people in four countries already experiencing famine-like conditions. For instance, families in Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan, and Yemen, as well as pockets within Nigeria and Burkina Faso, are already suffering through these famine-like conditions, and in other places, like Afghanistan, families are hovering dangerously close to the edge of getting there too.

Conflict, climate change, and economic shocks, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, are the main drivers of the increase in hunger globally. In addition, soaring prices for basic items are compounding existing pressures on food security. About 9% of the world’s population, that’s 690 million people, are going hungry every day.

Afghanistan
Afghanistan has been ravaged by conflict for decades. Political insecurity and a third wave of Covid-19 has left millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Now, drought has left 14 million people facing a food crisis.

Ethiopia
Months of fighting in Ethiopia has put more than 5 million people at risk of famine. Over 2 million people have been displaced from their homes and thousands have died. The levels of hunger faced by people is catastrophic.

Kenya
Below average harvests and livestock production is putting some 2 million people across Kenya in crisis and emergency phases with regard to food insecurity. This, coupled with ongoing Covid-19 cases, is propelling more and more Kenyans into starvation and poverty.

Madagascar
The Grand South of Madagascar is facing a severe food security and nutrition crisis following three consecutive years of drought. Some 1.14 million people (half the region’s population) need immediate emergency food assistance, and are at crisis levels for food insecurity.

Mali
Mali ranks 184 out of 189 on the UNDP Human Development Index and faces serious challenges in the achievement of zero hunger and improved nutrition. More than 866,990 people were reported as food insecure and classified between crisis and catastrophic levels in Mali.

Niger
Niger ranks among the least developed countries in the world according to the UN. Poverty is affecting about 45% of the population and climate change and conflicts effects continue to worsen the situation as 80% of Nigeriens are farmers.

Somalia
The impacts of two consecutive below-average rainfall seasons on crop and livestock production in late 2020 and early 2021 have driven a sharp increase in food insecure population in Somalia, especially in rural areas. The number of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance is expected to increase to 2.75-2.83 million for July 2021-January 2022.

Sudan
Conflict continues to be the primary driver for the largest share of people facing acute food insecurity (around 65%), while the economic impact of the pandemic is of increasing immediate and long-term concern, as it plays into weakening currencies, rapid inflation, high food prices and widening unemployment, combined with increasing debt and low purchasing power. In addition, weather extremes and environment remain a significant driver, such as flooding and drought.

South Sudan
South Sudan is facing a humanitarian crisis coupled with severe food shortages. The country has been struggling to recover from 5 years of conflict that has killed almost 400,000 people. Many communities have been displaced from their homes and unable to cultivate land. With little access to water and food, the situation is worsening for most of the population.

Yemen
Years of conflict, economic decline, and the Covid-19 pandemic have devastated Yemen. 16.2 million people in the country have experienced acute food insecurity this year. Almost 2.3 million children under the age of 5 are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition, and 400,000 could die if they do not receive urgent humanitarian assistance and treatment.

We can’t end famine today, but we can help families fighting it, and we’ve launched an emergency to prioritize this important work. Your donation helps chip away at hunger one family at a time.

Make a difference in someone’s life. Donate now.

World Food Crisis Worsens with COVID-19

Sixty-million people live in chronic hunger, and according to the Hunger Project, with 41 million people “now at imminent risk of famine without urgent funding and immediate humanitarian access,” reports World Food Program. People in all parts of the world are literally starving to death, from Ethiopia where 8 million people are battling hunger, to Afghanistan where about 75% of the population is food insecure, to the United States where one in nine Americans suffer from starvation.

The coronavirus pandemic has made the hunger crisis that much worse.

Islamic Relief’s Dedication to Fighting Hunger

IRUSA is working tirelessly so people never have to live in fear of food insecurity. Right now, for example, we are calling on donors to help sponsor 92 pallets of nutrient-dense meals (that’s 10,000 meals/pallet) so that we can deliver them across the country to families in need. It’s $6,000 to sponsor one pallet, $3,000 for half a pallet, or $167 for a box of about 217 meals. Every donation you can provide toward this effort will make a great difference in the lives of families who need your compassion and who need quality food access.

Food aid is the largest sector of Islamic Relief USA’s humanitarian aid. Our food aid programs range from worldwide distribution during the Ramadan and Qurbani seasons; to mobilized deliveries in the wake of disasters; to food pantries that provide easy access to quality food. Across the globe, we’re working hard to make sure that our neighbors have enough to eat.

Here’s just a sampling of our recent efforts to fight hunger:

• Improving food security by building integrated agricultural livelihood programs in Malawi
• Delivering urgent food aid to vulnerable families in Afghanistan
• Building greenhouses for vulnerable families in Bosnia to improve food access and security
• Distributing Ramadan food packages in 2021 for some 1,000,000 people to provide them with staple foods

We Need YOUR Help

The world still needs our help. Together we can work together for a world free of hunger. That is only possible with your support.

$10 can provide an individual hot meal.
$167 can donate a box of more than 200 packaged meals.
$6,000 can deliver a pallet of 10,000 nutrient-dense meals to vulnerable communities across the U.S.

PLEASE NOTE: Donations made to IRUSA’s Food Aid fund may serve urgent or long-term food programs in the United States or across the world.

“He is not a believer who fills his stomach while his neighbor goes hungry.”

(Bukhari)