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Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V.Sparkasse KölnBonnIBAN: DE15 3705 0198 0000 0011 15BIC: COLSDE33

Annual Report

WHH under the microscope: In its annual report, the organization provides an overview of its work. The report explains how work is financed and where and how donations are used.

Titelfoto des Jahresbericht 2021. Eine Welthungerhilfe-Mitarbeiterin mit AgriShare-T-Shirt macht Notizen, während ein Mann im Hintergrund zuschaut. Er hält zwei Ananas in den Händen.
Pineapple harvest in Luweero, Uganda. With the help of the app AgriShare, supported by Welthungerhilfe, Ali Sonko can find harvest helpers for his pineapple farm. In the future, he also wants to use AgriShare to borrow irrigation pumps. © papashotit/Welthungerhilfe
Profilbild: Evelyn Langhans
Evelyn Langhans Team Marketing Communication
+49(0) 288 2288 215 Send email

Zero hunger by 2030 – Welthungerhilfe aligns its work with this sustainable development goal. Because a life without hunger is a human right and a world without hunger is possible. Despite global challenges posed by the pandemic, the climate crisis and conflicts, in 2021 Welthungerhilfe once again worked hard to move closer to this goal. The amount of funding and the number of people supported increased in 2021 compared to 2020.

Die Präsidentin der Welthungerhilfe: Marlehn Thieme

We are experiencing the dramatic consequences of rising food prices in our project countries.

Marlehn Thieme Welthungerhilfe President

2021 - A Year In The Spotlight

Eine Frau lächelt in die Kamera.

Excellence in agriculture

Shallon Mutakiva is a farmer in Zimbabwe. She took part in a Welthungerhilfe project that enables smallholder farmers to significantly increase their yields and income through vocational training. She acquired knowledge of modern farming methods and entrepreneurial skills and was ranked first in a competition for her corn. Her harvests have tripled since she began buying drought tolerant sunflower seeds from the Agriculture Business Center (ABC). The social enterprise, which Welthungerhilfe founded together with partners from the private sector and state authorities, supports local farmers in marketing their products, among other things.

Infografik des Siegers des Innovation Awards 2021: Die mobilen Gärten.

Developing good approaches further

Numerous new ideas inspired the participants of the in-house Innovation Award. The winner in 2021: mobile gardens. More than 100 million people worldwide are currently displaced. Many of them are malnourished and undernourished, and vegetables are often unavailable in temporary shelters. Mobile gardens could help change that in a simple way: Small in footprint, flexible, and made from locally available materials, each garden produces enough vegetables for a family of five. The prototype that our employees in Bangladesh and Sudan are developing together will ideally mature into a version that will be useful to many people.

Ein Mensch führt einen Esel mit Wasserkanistern.

Drought in East Africa

In May 2021, Welthungerhilfe expanded its emergency aid in southern Madagascar, where the worst drought in 40 years has caused a hunger crisis. Countries in East Africa are also affected, such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Other intersecting disasters are further weakening people's resilience, such as the locust plagues of recent years, the coronavirus pandemic and violent conflicts. Millions of people are dependent on aid, going hungry and struggling to survive. Welthungerhilfe is helping the most vulnerable families, especially with access to food and water.

Eine Frau mit einem Kind auf ihrem Schoß.

An effective concept is going places

After two years of intensive joint work with Welthungerhilfe, 670 villages in Nepal, Bangladesh and India are now considered food secure. These so-called Nutrition Smart CommUNITYs are self-managed village communities where farming families learn all about balanced nutrition in nutrition camps. In their fields, they practice sustainable agriculture that provides healthy harvests and enables them to earn an income. These communities are now serving as role models for African countries: In Ethiopia, Malawi and Sierra Leone, the concept is now being adapted to the local context.

Ein junges syrisches Mädchen transportiert Brot auf ihrem Kopf

Forward-thinking humanitarian aid

In 2021, Welthungerhilfe's emergency response team was active in 22 countries. In eleven of them, we supported people in particular need as part of a global program against the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of people in acute crises received emergency aid, for example refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict or victims of natural disasters such as the drought in Madagascar. Welthungerhilfe's current emergency aid strategy provides answers based on forward-looking humanitarian aid. For example, we are developing forecasting models to identify potential droughts and help minimize or prevent negative impacts in advance.

Bild vom Food Systems Summit: Auf einer großen Leinwand ist UN-Generalsekretär Guterres zu sehen.

Food Systems Summit

The first UN Food Systems Summit in September 2021 was preceded by numerous dialog events and a pre-summit in July of that year. Participants from all over the world wanted to find ways to fundamentally change the way we produce, process, trade and consume food - in other words, our food system. Because it must not remain as it is, unfair and unsustainable. Welthungerhilfe has been an active participant in the Action Track on Resilience among others, and has highlighted in discussions to put sustainable hunger reduction at the center of a just food system.

The biggest hunger drivers in 2021 were the increasingly severe effects of climate change and the rising number of armed conflicts. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has further exacerbated the tense food situation in many countries of the Global South, with millions of families losing their livelihoods. Rising food prices in particular mean that many people in the Global South can no longer afford to buy food. Already in 2021, food prices around the world were rising sharply. The war in Ukraine has caused the situation to worsen – this has further exacerbated the crisis in many countries.

Generalsekretär und Vorstandsvorsitzender, Welthungerhilfe 2021

Millions of people are on the brink of famine because families no longer have any resources. The increased prices hit those hardest who are already among the poorest. We need more funding for crises around the world.

Mathias Mogge Welthungerhilfe Secretary General

What can Welthungerhilfe do to address these enormous challenges?

Annual Report Download
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Hunger is one of the world's biggest solvable problems. Therefore, it must be prioritized at all levels. Welthungerhilfe would like to contribute to that effort with all its capacities. "Together with our partners, we have developed clear strategies for issues that we believe are important for addressing hunger and poverty," says Welthungerhilfe Secretary General Mathias Mogge. "Changing the global food system is just as central to this as adapting to climate change in the countries that are particularly affected."

In light of the growing global challenges, our special thanks go to our supporters, as solidarity with people in need has not diminished in the second year of the pandemic. In total, 77.5 million euros in donations and 229.4 million euros in institutional grants were collected for Welthungerhilfe's work in 2021.

Annual Report Download – French Version
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Support for 16.6 million people

In 2021 alone, Welthungerhilfe supported around 16.6 million people in 36 countries with 526 projects. During the coronavirus pandemic, too, we were able to provide rapid aid in acute emergency situations and implement regionally adapted long-term concepts, mainly thanks to our local partners. Many people are now harvesting and earning more, they can feed themselves better, have clean drinking water and are therefore ill less often. For children, this support brings the chance of better physical and mental development -– and thus a self-determined future. 

all countries

In 2021, Welthungerhilfe spent a total of €289.3 million, €260.2 million of which went directly into overseas project funding. The rest went towards advertising and general public relations, project support abroad, administration expenses, campaigning, education, and awareness-raising.

Facts and figures about WHH in 2021

Graphic from the 2021 annual report: In 2021, WHH's income amounted to 310.2 million euros.
Graphic from the annual report 2021: In 2021, WHH spent 289.3 million euros in total. 89.9% of this was spent on overseas project funding.
What happens to your donations? 89.9 percent of the donations are going to Welthungerhilfe's project work.
Graphic from the annual report 2021: WHH is working working towards #ZeroHunger worldwide.
Graphic from the annual report 2021: Projects in South Sudan received the most funding in 2021.
Graphic from the annual report 2021: In 2021, WHH supported 16.6 million people.
In 2021, WHH's income amounted to 310.2 million euros. © Welthungerhilfe
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In 2021, WHH spent 289.3 million euros in total. 89.9% of this was spent on overseas project funding. © Welthungerhilfe
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What happens to your donations? 89.9 percent of the donations are going to Welthungerhilfe's project work. © Welthungerhilfe
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WHH is working working towards #ZeroHunger worldwide. © Welthungerhilfe
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Projects in South Sudan received the most funding in 2021. © Welthungerhilfe
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In 2021, WHH supported 16.6 million people. © Welthungerhilfe
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The independent auditing company BDO AG has issued an unconditional audit certificate for the annual financial statements and management report of Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V.

FAQ

How many people were reached in 2021?

In 2021, Welthungerhilfe was able to reach 16.6 million people in 36 countries. 11.5 million of those live in Africa, 5 million in Asia and 132,000 in South America and in the Caribbean. 

What is the difference between directly and indirectly supported people?

Directly supported people are people directly involved in the project who receive or use goods, products or services from the project. For example: small farmers who attend training courses on cultivation techniques or receive seeds for vegetable gardens.  

Indirectly supported people are people who have no direct connection to the project, but who can benefit from the project through the directly supported people. For example: the families of the farmers, who can now eat healthier food, their natural surroundings, and the communities to which they pass on their knowledge. 

How many projects were active in 2021?

Graphic from the annual report 2021: WHH is working working towards #ZeroHunger worldwide.

In 2021, 533 projects were active in 36 countries – of which 7 were domestic and 526 international. Further information can be found on page 44 of the Annual Report.

What is the breakdown of expenditure on projects?

Graphic from the annual report 2021: In 2021, WHH spent 289.3 million euros in total. 89.9% of this was spent on overseas project funding.

89.9% of all donations received go directly into overseas projects. 4.4% are used for advertisement and general public relations, 2.4% flow into administration, 2.5% into overseas project support. 0.8% is used for campaigning, education and awareness raising work. With your donation, we are also able to apply for additional funds from public donors such as the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Foreign Office (AA), the European Union (EU) or the United Nations and convince them of the value of our project ideas. Generally, every donation is quadrupled – €100 of donations can be turned into up to €400 of project funds.

Who are the institutional donors of WHH?

Graphic from the annual report 2021: WHH received 229.4 million euros in institutional grants in 2021.

In 2021, WHH once again received large grants from institutional donors and was thus able to expand its project funding. These donors include:

  1. AA (German Federal Foreign Office)
  2. Agenzia Italiana Per la Cooperaziones Allo Sviluppo (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation)
  3. Amhara Government
  4. BMEL (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture)
  5. BMUV (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection)
  6. BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) 
  7. Caribbean Development Bank
  8. DBU (The German Federal Environmental Foundation)
  9. ECHO (European Commission Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection)
  10. ENABEL (Belgian Development Agency)
  11. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
  12. FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
  13. GIZ (Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit)
  14. INTPA (Directorate-General for International Partnerships)
  15. KfW Entwicklungsbank
  16. LIFt (Livelihoods and Food Security Funds, Myanmar)
  17. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (MFA)
  18. NPAA (Sierra Leonean National Protected Area Authority)
  19. OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)
  20. Patrip Foundation
  21. SIDA (Swedish International Cooperation Agency)
  22. Start Network
  23. UN Habitat
  24. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
  25. UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
  26. UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund)
  27. USAID (United States Agency for International Development)
  28. Wageningen University and Research, Centre for Development Innovation
  29. WFP (World Food Program)
  30. World Bank

What is WHH's strategy?

We have set ourselves a clear goal based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Zero hunger by 2030. We are working towards this goal to make our vision a reality: Everyone has a right to a self-determined life in dignity and justice, free from hunger and poverty. The detailed strategy of WHH can be downloaded as a publication. 

To what extent is WHH making its work transparent?

WHH's work is centred on transparency and quality, economical and targeted use of donations and verified information. For this reason, the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI) has awarded us the seal of approval for donations.  

Beyond this, we also attach great importance to economic efficiency and transparency. Our annual report shows in detail what all donations are used for and provides a direct insight into our work. As part of the "Transparent Civil Society Initiative," we disclose additional information, such as our complete Articles of Association, the names and functions of key decision-makers, our organisational structure and much more.

What information can be found in the management report?

As an aid organisation, private donations and contributions to WHH are the indispensable basis for implementing its statutory mission – the fight against hunger and poverty.  

In order to ensure economically sustainable development, the Executive Board and the Board of Management of WHH have agreed on key figures that also enable the Board of Management to exercise targeted operational governance during the year.  

The Management Report contains more detailed information on the general conditions and the economic development and performance of Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V. 

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