In partnership with millions of people around the world, we at The Hunger Project have worked towards an end to hunger since 1977—a mission that’s more important than ever.
The rate of hunger is rising rapidly and we need bold, creative, sustainable action to regain the progress that’s been lost.
Within this context, we present The Hunger Project’s 2022-2027 Strategic Framework. The Strategic Framework is more than a high-level, aspirational goal, it’s a framework for a commitment made by our organization to thoughtfully and strategically carry out programming worldwide.
Get to know the ins and outs of our 2022-2027 Strategic Framework through our Institutional Partners Booklet:
Our goal to end hunger has not changed. It’s a bold goal that we set out to reach more than 40 years ago and one that we remain steadfastly committed to today. Our Strategic Framework takes the realities of today’s world into consideration in order to achieve this vision, ensuring we’re not stuck in out-moded processes just because we’ve done them before. As a tool our Strategic Framework supports decision making, partnerships and ensures we stay accountable to the values of our mission within the context of an ever changing world.
Global context.
We are experiencing seismic shifts in our climate, global health, politics and technology. And, after decades of progress, we still see growing inequities in human rights, gender, poverty and hunger. This is a critical moment in the global pursuit of an end to hunger. One in nine members of our human family does not have enough nutritious food to lead a healthy and productive life. Even prior to the pandemic, the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of zero hunger by 2030 was ambitious. Now, it is clear that the human and economic toll of COVID-19 and the inequitable recovery will make it increasingly challenging to end hunger at our current pace.
To end hunger by 2030, the global community must accelerate our actions within the context of our current world. Our 2022 Strategic Framework identifies five imperatives, or themes, that are essential to recognize and work with in this era of The Hunger Project:
Each of these imperatives were identified through a collaborative process with our staff around the world. Together, we recognize these areas as the most pressing, influential situations impacting our work to end hunger and poverty. We have created our 2022-2027 Strategic Framework to amplify our work having taken each of these factors into fundamental consideration.
How do we respond now?
At the core of the strategy is our belief in the limitless potential of the human spirit and the power of coordinated voice and action to create a world free from hunger and poverty.
As part of our Strategic Framework, we’ve identified areas of action and focus for us to make a quantum leap forward, to amplify voices and reimagine systems. We call them our Accelerators. Each Accelerator has the potential to rapidly transform policies, practices and resource flows with an exponential effect.
Amplify Collective Voice.
We’re amplifying collective voice for the sustainable end of hunger, creating commitment among a critical mass and shifting the power through transformational thinking.
How?
- Elevate the voice of people living in hunger and poverty wherever we can;
- Catalyze local and national engagement in governance processes to increase public accountability
- Facilitate associations among communities that mobilize people to lead advocacy for policy change
- Influence national governments to decentralize resources, uphold policies, and be more responsive to community needs.
- Bridge the gaps: (a) between formal alliances and informal grassroots movements; and (b) between communities and policymakers.
Amplify the Power of the Next Generation.
We’re amplifying the power of next generation leaders to drive systemic change for the sustainable end of hunger.
How?
- Build, strengthen and expand youth leadership and engagement, with a particular emphasis on girls.
- Pioneer initiatives by, for and with youth —especially girls—to catalyze change in the critical areas of social justice and equity, technology adoption, civic engagement, climate resilience, and government accountability.
- Develop strategic partnerships with organizations that are lead by, for and with youth.
Amplify Engagement with Private Sector.
We’re transforming the way we engage with the private sector—especially at the local and regional levels—to ensure community intentions come first, harnessing the multiplier effect of the market.
How?
- Strengthen community-level entrepreneurship, cooperatives and purpose-driven partnerships with the private sector.
- Engage with food and market systems to make them more equitable and more responsive to shocks from climate or civil unrest.
- Leverage the private sector’s ability to innovate and scale.
Our five-year vision within this Strategic Framework holds the possibility of a world with…
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Effective leadership action by individuals, especially women and youth, who step forward as community leaders to ensure every person has the opportunity to lead a healthy, productive, resilient and self-reliant life in harmony with nature.
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Access to resources, autonomy and opportunity. An enabling environment of equity, peace and stewardship of the natural environment, where communities access the training, information or resources needed to ensure lives free from hunger, unencumbered by entrenched social barriers.
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Collective voice of individuals living in hunger and poverty to demand change of their central governments through associational strength within and among communities.
- Sufficient government and funder commitment to recognize and take the required actions, shifts in priority, and devolution of power and resources necessary to end hunger, in harmony with the natural environment.
All of us, and the natural world that sustains us, are profoundly connected. Together, we can create a world of equity, interconnectedness and collaboration—a world where hunger is completely unacceptable. Our 2022-2027 Strategic Framework paves the way for that future within The Hunger Project.
As part of our Strategic Framework process, we launched new Vision and Mission Statements in 2023:
Our vision is a world without hunger.
Our mission is to facilitate individual and collective action to transform the systems of inequity that create hunger and cause it to persist.
Image: Lizeta in Burkina Faso, 2022 | Photo for The Hunger Project by WTYSL
