After decades of progress, world hunger is sadly on the rise. Last year, 690 million people went hungry, and with COVID-19, that number is growing rapidly. The pandemic has caused job losses and market closures. As a result, more people are struggling to feed their families. The United Nations predicts that as many as 132 million people could go hungry by the end of this year.

To meet this growing need, Action Against Hunger and other humanitarian organizations have stepped up to create new ways of helping the most vulnerable in these trying times. At my organization, we are using the challenges presented by COVID-19 to find more cost-effective, impact-driven approaches to preventing and treating hunger — innovations that have staying power beyond the pandemic.

Here are three ways in which we are using trying times to leapfrog progress in nutrition programs around the world:

  1. Bringing care closer to communities: Even before COVID-19, there was a growing movement to treat malnutrition not only in faraway hospitals but close to families.
  2. Help farmers become more self-sufficient: As COVID-19 has restricted trade and movement and affected food supply chains, supporting local food production has become even more important to ensure families have enough.
  3. Using technology to fight hunger:  Artificial intelligence is helping herders in West Africa’s Sahel region to find food and water for their livestock.

Read the full article about fighting hunger by Dr. Charles E. Owubah at Charity Navigator.