The 2021 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC 2021), a product of the Global Network against Food Crisis, highlights the remarkably high severity and number of people facing acute food insecurity. At least 155 million people were in crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) in 55 countries in 2020, that is nearly 21 million people more than in 2019. In these 55 countries, 75.2 and 15.7 million children under 5 years old are respectively wasted and stunted.

Ten countries concentrate 66 % of the people in Crisis or worse, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Haiti. 

The report also highlights that 39 countries out of the 55 have been facing food crisis for the last five years. In these countries, the population affected by high levels of acute food insecurity has increased from 97 to 147 million between 2016 and 2020.

During 2020, around 133 000 people in Burkina Faso, South Sudan and Yemen, have been classified in the most severe phase of acute food insecurity – Catastrophe (IPC/CH Phase 5). About 28 million people were classified in Emergency (IPC/CH Phase 4) or above, urgently requesting humanitarian intervention to save lives and livelihoods. Eight countries– the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Haiti and Zimbabwe account for 75% of this number.