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15.01.2025 | Blog

2024: Hope and solidarity in the face of crises

Mathias Mogge, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) Secretary General, looks back on the year 2024. During his travels to crisis regions, he experienced immeasurable suffering and the impressive power of solidarity and mutual aid.

2024 – so much has happened. Let's take a look back. We probably remember the many shocking news stories from various crisis regions worldwide.

My trip to the far south of Madagascar greatly moved me. The region has been repeatedly affected by severe droughts for several years, causing pervasive hunger. Children and young women, in particular, are severely affected by food insecurity.

But the situation is gradually improving. One significant local development that has given me hope is the so-called “care groups,” in which women support each other in recognizing signs of malnutrition in children at an early stage.

Another trip took me to Sudan, a country suffering from a cruel civil war.

Millions of people had to leave their homes. In 2024, analyses have shown that there is famine in several regions. Hunger is claiming lives there every day––including those of children.

For me personally, the suffering of the people in Sudan is particularly painful, as I lived in the west of the country for several years. Millions of people are dependent on food aid.

WHH is doing life-saving work on the ground to preventeven more people from dying from hunger. We distribute food to refugees and people seeking protection, for example, in the Zamzam camp for displaced persons, and provide them with clean water and sanitary facilities.

Gaza is another region where armed conflict is causing a great deal of suffering.

Almost two million people are in urgent need of food aid. Here, too, a state of famine has been officially declared. We have, therefore, decided to take action in Gaza.

An experienced colleague told me that he had never experienced a crisis of this magnitude––despite his decades of experience in crisis regions around the world. These words resonated deeply and made me realize how urgently we must act.

In South Sudan, it is the climate crisis and its effects that are causing hardship for people. Floods have forced many to leave their homes.

Thanks to our anticipatory humanitarian action program, we could react early, predict floods and organize evacuations in good time. This experience has shown us that this kind of anticipatory action can save lives, whether it's floods or droughts.

 

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