Qatar in top quartile of Access to Food ranking

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only Arab countries in the top quartile of ‘Access to Food’ ranking, according to the Global Food Security Q2 2022 report released today by Deep Knowledge Analytics.

The global food system has been destabilized by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Levels of hunger and acute food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Latin American and South Asia are expected to increase further by the end of this year.

The report assesses the drivers of food insecurity in 2022. Among the key findings, Sub-Saharan and MENA region countries dominate the bottom quartile of the Food Security Index, with Somalia scoring the lowest at 2.97 points out of 10. These countries have not demonstrated the capacity to build food security through national policies and are affected by conflicts (northern Nigeria, Yemen, Burkina Faso and Niger), by weather conditions such as consecutive seasons of drought (Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia) and by economic shocks.

High income countries of North America and the EU lead the Food Security Index as the most food-secure nations in the world. The United States tops the ranking with 7.9 points out of 10. The report concluded that developed, food-secure countries will not face hunger, but the deficit of certain food products and high inflation will be felt.


Commenting on the findings, Alex Cresniov, Director of Deep Knowledge Analytics said: “Devising a food security strategy to counter issues of domestic food insecurity must be considered by governments across the world, especially during such times of uncertainty.”

Looking ahead, governments need to weigh up main factors shaping food security such as food access, affordability, production, and presence of crisis situations globally.