International Food Assistance Report

In FY 2023, the United States continued to lead the world in addressing hunger. Utilizing all humanitarian assistance tools and resources—from the provision of U.S. in-kind food assistance to meet emergency needs to programs that build communities’ resilience and reduce reliance on foreign assistance in the long term—the United States continued a legacy as the leading donor of humanitarian food assistance, and collaborator among donors, the private sector, and philanthropic institutions to meet global needs. In FY 2023, USAID provided more than $1.9 billion in Title II assistance, reaching more than 45 million people in 35 countries.

Global levels of acute food insecurity continued to rise in 2021 due to the confluence of conflict and insecurity, extreme and variable weather conditions, large-scale economic crises, and the effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. An estimated 161 million people across 42 countries were experiencing acute food insecurity in 2021 — a 19 percent increase compared to 2020.

USAID provided food assistance to save lives, reduce suffering, and support recovery for millions in both acute and chronic emergencies. In FY 2020, USAID provided over $1.7 billion in Title II Food for Peace Act assistance, funding the procurement of more than 1.5 million metric tons (MT) of food from the United States to serve a total of almost 28 million2 beneficiaries in 34 countries. More than 83 percent of Title II assistance was for emergency responses and roughly 17 percent was for non-emergency programming. When combined with International Disaster Assistance (IDA) and Development Assistance funds provided as Community Development Funds (CDF), USAID reached more than 71 million people in 57 countries with food assistance in FY 2020, with a total of nearly $4.8 billion.