Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa

With food crises on the rise, with an estimated 295.3 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity in 2024. In the face of these stark hunger levels, policymakers, humanitarian organizations, development practitioners, and private sector actors urgently need knowledge about how to effectively enhance the resilience of local and regional food systems.

Current U.S. trade policies—though primarily focused on major global players including China, the European Union, and North American partners Canada and Mexico—also have economic consequences for smaller countries and regions around the world. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), these impacts will be felt both directly, through newly imposed tariffs, and indirectly, as collateral damage in a potential trade war between the world’s largest economies.

The problem of food loss and waste (FLW) undermines global food and nutrition security and makes a significant contribution to climate change, primarily through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing or minimizing FLW requires coordinated action to align stakeholders, promote responsible investments, and incentivize sustainable agricultural practices.

Millions of people across 22 countries and territories may be pushed into acute food insecurity by May 2025, according to the latest FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots Report. Ongoing and increasing conflict in many areas of the world, along with economic hardships and extreme weather caused by climate change and the La Niña phenomenon, are behind this significant increase in both the magnitude and the severity of acute food insecurity.

Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is crucial to improving food security, reducing malnutrition, and providing livelihoods for food system workers. But such efforts are also key to combating climate change. FLW has significant environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in both the production of food that is later lost and in waste management.