As the global food crisis remains alarmingly high, the European Union is intensifying its efforts to alleviate the suffering of vulnerable communities.

Stories of
positive change

Behind every world hunger statistic are the stories of people marked by hardship. Destabilised by economic shocks, extreme weather and escalating conflicts, countries like Yemen, Chad, Bangladesh, and many more are facing acute food insecurity.

Despite the bleak outlook, what matters is that food assistance brings hope to thousands of people every single day, sustaining them beyond sustenance, with hope.

Arranging a spontaneous potluck dinner with your closest friends to spend the night in good company. Or just coming home from a long day to a wonderful smell of something cooking in the kitchen. Everyday moments in life we take for granted or don’t think about because they just are. Imagine, if the mere memories of these moments were all you had.

For the many people living in Yemen’s Ammar Bin Yasser camp, that’s their reality. They left their homes with nothing but what they could carry in their arms and hearts, hoping one day to be able to return to their hometowns and villages. After almost a decade of internal conflict, Yemen remains one of the most food insecure countries in the world. Living your life under these harsh circumstances requires a level of resilience and determination that cannot be sustained on hope alone.

Today, 5 million children under 5 and 2,7 million pregnant and lactating women in Yemen are in need of integrated nutrition assistance just to get by, and EU humanitarian aid is there providing food assistance through cash and in-kind. For those who have been internally displaced for almost a decade now, it’s no longer a matter of holding on to memories, but about the opportunity to build a better tomorrow with new memories.

© Olivier Laban-Mattei/MYOP for ECHO

Every day Abdulaleem fights a battle to provide three meals for his family as he dreams of a better future. It’s hard work, and they have to remain positive throughout – supporting each other as well as the community – feeding hope to others in an impossible situation. The EU’s food assistance helps him win that battle, offering him and his loved ones a daily dose of normalcy in a life that is anything but.

Production: MYOP, 2024. Directors: Olivier Jobard, Olivier Laban-Lattei, Julien Pebrel - from MYOP. Editing: Claire Billet.

The deterioration of the conditions in the East of the country is only the latest crisis affecting Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world, with a long history of low development and very limited social services.

Living a day-to-day, hand-to-mouth existence is the reality for too many people in Chad. The EU humanitarian aid is working to ensure that vulnerable communities and people in need there have access to basic needs, like food and life-saving treatments. There are so many things we take for granted in life, but the harsh reality for millions implores us to face some important truths in the world.

© Julien Pebrel/MYOP for ECHO

Production: MYOP, 2024. Directors: Olivier Jobard, Olivier Laban-Lattei, Julien Pebrel - from MYOP. Editing: Claire Billet.

We all have that secret go-to ingredient when we cook our loved ones’ favorite meals, and we all have different table manners and customs. Similarly, we all recall certain memories from specific tastes that transport us back to our childhood. Wherever we go in this world, we carry these with us as a part of us and where we come from – a sort of ancestral footprint on our being that has been passed down through generations, ready to pass on to the next.

In the camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees are holding on to their culture and history as they try to build new futures. Holding on to a semblance of normalcy when faced with the risk of hunger is a whole other story. It is estimated that 422,705 Rohingya in Cox's Bazar are facing high levels of food insecurity but thanks to additional funding, EU humanitarian aid was able to increase food rations to better address their needs in 2024.

In addition to being a necessity to life, food is also the way we show love. A way to share and pass on our culture and family heritage. Providing food to millions in immediate need is both a way to preserve lives and history, as well as to ensure the survival of not only the people, but an entire way of life.

© Olivier Jobard/MYOP for ECHO

For Sabekun, the future is her kids and everything she does, she does for them. Thanks to the EU’s food assistance, she doesn’t have to worry about her next meal and is freer to focus on her children.

Production: MYOP, 2024. Directors: Olivier Jobard, Olivier Laban-Lattei, Julien Pebrel - from MYOP. Editing: Claire Billet.