Which of these causes is now recognized as the major cause of food insecurity?

January 8, 2026 •

4 min read

According to the World Food Programme, a staggering 70% of the world's acutely food-insecure population resides in conflict zones, highlighting how conflict is now recognized as the major cause of food insecurity. While climate change, economic shocks, and other factors play significant roles, modern conflict creates catastrophic disruptions to food systems and supply chains. Addressing global hunger requires a comprehensive understanding of this primary driver and its ripple effects.

Quick Summary

This article explores the multiple, interconnected factors driving the global food crisis, with a focus on recent shifts in causality. It details why ongoing conflict has surpassed other issues to become the leading cause of acute food insecurity, and examines the roles of climate extremes, economic instability, and systemic poverty in exacerbating the problem. The piece also discusses the devastating impact on vulnerable populations and the international efforts needed to address these complex challenges effectively.

Key Points

Conflict as the Major Cause: In recent years, data confirms that conflict and insecurity are the primary drivers of acute food insecurity, displacing populations and destroying food systems.
Economic Shocks Exacerbate Hunger: Factors like high food price inflation, national debt, and unemployment severely impact affordability, pushing vulnerable households closer to hunger.
Climate Change Disrupts Food Supply: Extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and storms, damage crops and agricultural infrastructure, leading to food shortages and instability.
Poverty is an Underlying Cause: Structural issues like poverty and inequality are fundamental drivers, with poor households having limited access to nutritious food, regardless of global supply.
Interconnected Drivers: The various causes of food insecurity do not operate independently; they often overlap and amplify one another, creating complex and protracted crises.

The Evolving Landscape of Global Hunger

For decades, the global community has grappled with the persistent challenge of food insecurity. While underlying issues like poverty and inequality have long been recognized, the immediate drivers have shifted over time. In recent analyses, particularly the 2024 and 2025 Global Reports on Food Crises, a clear and sobering conclusion has emerged: conflict and insecurity are now the dominant causes of acute food insecurity. The destruction of livelihoods, markets, and infrastructure, coupled with forced displacement, has a catastrophic effect on food systems in war-torn regions.

The Primacy of Conflict as a Driver

Numerous reports from international bodies, including the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, confirm that conflict is the leading cause of the steep rise in global hunger. In many countries, ongoing violence and political instability have created a devastating cycle of hunger and displacement. For instance, in areas like Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen, conflict has severely limited access to humanitarian aid and food supplies.

Here’s how conflict systematically dismantles food security:

Destruction of Production: War disrupts farming activities, destroys agricultural infrastructure, and forces rural populations—often smallholder farmers—to abandon their land.
Supply Chain Collapse: Conflict disrupts supply chains, leading to shortages and price increases.
Forced Displacement: Conflict causes displacement, leaving populations reliant on aid.
Weaponization of Hunger: In some cases, starvation is used as a weapon, exacerbating the crisis.

Other Key Drivers of Food Insecurity

While conflict is now the most severe driver of acute food crises, it does not act in a vacuum. It is deeply intertwined with and compounded by other major factors. The global food crisis is the result of a convergence of multiple shocks, each amplifying the others.

Economic Shocks

Economic instability, exacerbated by events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and global inflation, significantly affects food affordability. Many low- and middle-income countries faced high food price inflation in 2024, disproportionately affecting vulnerable households. This was compounded by rising debt levels and shrinking fiscal space, limiting government investment in social protection programs.

Climate Extremes

Climate change continues to fuel hunger by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Droughts, floods, and storms destroy crops, decimate livelihoods, and destabilize food supplies. These events hit fragile regions and smallholder farmers, who have limited adaptive capacity, the hardest. A multi-year drought in Southern Africa, for instance, worsened food and nutrition crises.

Systemic Vulnerabilities

Underlying these immediate crises are chronic, structural issues like poverty and inequality. Even in regions with sufficient food production, millions are food insecure because they simply cannot afford a healthy diet. Lack of education, poor infrastructure, and inadequate social safety nets perpetuate cycles of hunger and hardship across generations.

Comparison of Major Food Insecurity Drivers


Feature	Conflict & Insecurity	Economic Shocks	Climate Extremes
Primary Impact	Destroys food systems, creates mass displacement, hinders aid access.	Reduces purchasing power, causes high food price inflation, limits social programs.	Disrupts agricultural production, destroys crops and infrastructure, affects stability.
Key Mechanisms	Physical destruction, blockades, disruption of trade, population displacement.	Currency devaluation, high food prices, rising debt, low wages/unemployment.	Droughts, floods, storms, temperature changes, shifting rainfall patterns.
Effect on People	Forces people to flee homes, loss of all assets, direct exposure to violence and starvation.	Strains household budgets, forces choices between food and other necessities, increases poverty.	Displaces communities, leads to crop failure, increases vulnerability to other shocks.
Recent Trends	Primary driver of acute hunger in 2024-2025, especially in fragile states like Sudan, Gaza.	Still a significant driver, with inflation remaining high in many countries.	Increasing in frequency and intensity, impacting regions like Southern Africa.
Resolution	Requires peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and protection of humanitarian access.	Economic stabilization policies, targeted social protection, fair market access.	Long-term climate adaptation strategies, investment in resilient agriculture.

The Path Forward: A Call for Coordinated Action

The interconnectedness of these issues means that addressing one in isolation is insufficient. For instance, climate adaptation efforts are undermined in a conflict zone, while economic aid can be ineffective without stable political conditions. The international community must adopt a multi-pronged, coordinated approach that tackles the root causes of hunger simultaneously.

This involves:

Prioritizing Conflict Prevention: Investing in diplomacy and early warning systems is crucial.
Resilient Food Systems: Building stronger systems able to withstand shocks.
Targeted Social Protection: Implementing safety nets to protect vulnerable households.
Inclusive Development: Addressing poverty and inequality for long-term resilience.

Ultimately, tackling the world's food insecurity crisis requires recognizing that conflict is the primary driver of acute hunger today and that all other contributing factors exacerbate its devastating impact.

Conclusion

While a complex interplay of factors contributes to global food insecurity, current data from international bodies unmistakably points to conflict as the major cause of acute hunger, affecting tens of millions of people in fragile and war-torn regions. Climate extremes and economic shocks are powerful amplifiers, creating a perfect storm of disaster for vulnerable populations. A sustainable solution requires not only addressing the immediate humanitarian needs caused by conflict but also tackling the underlying issues of poverty, inequality, and climate vulnerability that perpetuate the cycle of hunger. International cooperation, investment in peace, and resilient, equitable development are the only viable path toward achieving global food security.

Frequently Asked Questions

According to the latest Global Reports on Food Crises, conflict is now recognized as the single biggest driver of acute food insecurity, primarily due to its devastating impact on food systems, economies, and population stability in war-torn regions.

Climate change contributes to food insecurity by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, which destroy crops, reduce agricultural yields, and disrupt the stability of food supplies.

Economic shocks, including high food price inflation, currency devaluation, and rising national debt, reduce the purchasing power of vulnerable populations. This makes food less affordable and severely impacts people's access to adequate nutrition.

Poverty remains a fundamental cause of food insecurity because it limits a household's ability to access or purchase sufficient, nutritious food, even when food is available globally. Inequality further exacerbates this issue.

Conflicts cause food insecurity by destroying agricultural land and infrastructure, disrupting supply chains, and forcing mass displacement. This loss of livelihood leaves millions dependent on emergency food aid and vulnerable to targeted starvation tactics.

Yes, international reports, including the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises, highlight that conflicts, economic shocks, and climate extremes are increasingly occurring concurrently. This creates a complex and worsening situation for many fragile regions.

Acute food insecurity refers to a sudden, short-term inability to access food, often triggered by events like conflict or disasters. Chronic food insecurity is a long-term, persistent lack of adequate food that stems from systemic issues like deep-seated poverty.