 Over 500 million people across Asia are living on US$1 per day or less, and spend as much as 70% of their income on food. Each country in the Asia Pacific region faces a different set of food security challenges, from conflict and natural disaster through to urbanisation and gender inequality. Food-deficit countries do not have sufficient agriculture to feed their populations and are forced to import food. Countries with food inequality produce enough food to support themselves but divide it unequally, for instance, exporting it without ensuring that profits are returned to farmers or labourers.
 Pakistan
- 85% of the population or 77 million live on less than US$2 per day.
- The increase in food prices has decreased the purchasing power of the poor by almost 50%.
- Soaring food prices have led to public anger, further destabilising the country at a time when it is still suffering the effects of a protracted political crisis.
Sri Lanka
- Its inflation rate is the highest in south Asian countries.
- The price of rice has nearly doubled over the first quarter of 2008.
- One in every three children is malnourished.
- 21.6% of children under five are underweight.
Myanmar
- 27% of children under five are underweight while 10% do not reach the age of five.
- Food shortages are aggravated by the lack of access to farmlands and poor infrastructure.
- Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 caused massive destruction to the Irrawaddy Delta, the main rice-producing region, further undermining domestic food supply.
Laos
- 30% of the population has insufficient food for over six months of the year.
- 40% of children under five are underweight and one in 13 dies before the age of five.
- 80% of the population lives by agriculture but only less than 10% of the land is suitable for permanent agriculture.
Vietnam
- 25% of children under five suffer malnutrition due to intestinal worms, poor consumption of micronutrients and poor sanitation.
- Mothers lack knowledge of good feeding practices and 32% of children under five are underweight.
Bangladesh
- Cyclone Sidr in November 2007 damaged many of its crops, leading to higher dependency on imported goods.
- Around half of the country’s 153 million people live under the poverty line, spending 70% of their income on staple food.
Cambodia
- It is one of the 50 poorest countries in the world.
- Over 40% of children under five are malnourished.
- Its infant mortality rate is the highest in the Southeast Asian region, with an average of 124 deaths for every 1,000 births.
- The majority of people have very limited access to even the most basic food and clean water.
- Last year, the price of rice increased by over 50% and meat by 40%.
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
- The flood in 2007, the worst in 40 years, decreased harvests by 11%. Food prices have doubled since that time. The international communities?response to its food appeal was limited.
- It is about 1.7 million tonnes short of the 5.5 million tonnes it needs to feed the population.
- 25% of the population is in need of food aid.
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World Vision began working in the DPRK in 1997 during a time of major famine. Thereafter it expanded to development programmes in health, food processing, agriculture and water as well as sanitation projects.
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 Rising oil prices, poor harvests, trade barriers and subsidies have pushed food prices to new heights, forcing tougher choices on this region’s poorest families and their children. Decades of conflict have already shattered societies across this volatile region. Millions of urban poor now compete with millions more refugees who have sought safety in the bustling streets of cities in the world’s largest refugee hosting region. Children are at further risk of malnourishment, abandonment, child labour, trafficking, and institutionalisation as a result of the increased pressures on poor families.
West Bank and Gaza
- Over 70% of 9-month-old children in Gaza, and half of 9-month-old children in the West Bank are anemic.
- Over 50% of all Palestinians living in the West Bank and more than two-thirds in the Gaza Strip are living below the poverty line at US$2 a day and many even live on less than US$1.
- Up to 800,000 people in Gaza depend on food aid, and 150,000 are under threat of being cut off from food aid due to higher costs and lack of available food.
- Rice trebled in price in April 2008, World Vision food aid in the Gaza Strip has cost 25% more than anticipated as a result of soaring food prices.
Afghanistan
- 54% of children under five are chronically malnourished.
- 50,000 children are working on the streets of the capital, Kabul.
- Children are at risk of being put to work to support the family; girls are sold into marriage while boys are sold to warlords.
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In Afghanistan, where more than half of all children under five are chronically malnourished, some parents are forced to take extreme measures — selling their pre-teen daughters as wives to older, more affluent men.
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 Underlying causes of food shortage include poor governance, lack of investment in agriculture, imposition of inter-Africa trade barriers and tariffs, HIV and AIDS and high numbers of orphans and vulnerable children, high household dependency ratios, high levels of existing childhood malnutrition, existing high level of absolute poverty, degradation of natural resources, increasing water scarcity and increasing urbanisation.
Sudan
- 27% of the population suffers chronic hunger. Of all children under five, 41% are underweight, 15% malnourished, and 10% fail to thrive.
- In the north, crop productivity is poor due to pests, lack of fortified seeds, irrigation and farming tools; 6.5 million people are in urgent and long-term need of food aid.
- High inflation has led to a 20-30% increase in the food aid budget, leading to a reduced amount of aid.
Ethiopia
- Experiencing severe food shortages, 4.6 million people (have doubled since April 2008) are in urgent need of food aid including 75,000 severely malnourished children.
- The agricultural activities in many areas remain gloomy for the coming months due to poor rainfall.
- 38% of children under five are underweight. One in every six children does not reach the age of five.
- Food prices have escalated by 30% within a month, while the purchasing power of pastoral communities has been reduced by almost 60% due to current drought conditions.
Kenya
- 31% of the population suffers chronic hunger. 20% of children under five are underweight. One in every eight children does not reach the age of five.
- Floods in the northern, western and coastal parts of the country mean frequent outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera, malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections.
- Inflation has risen since January 2008 to the present 22%, leading to higher food and farming costs, which are beyond the reach of most small-scale farmers.
- The government projects a deficit of 6 million bags of maize (540,000 metric tonnes) this year, which will push up the prices of this staple food for most Kenyans.
Burundi
- 67% of the population suffers chronic hunger and poverty due to lack of farming skills and farmland, soil erosion and changing climatic patterns.
- 45% of children under five are underweight. One in every five children does not reach the age of five.
- Crop production in low altitude regions is poor due to scarce rainfall.
Lesotho
- A significant drop in crop production has pushed prices beyond the reach of many households.
- Crop failure has reduced causal labour opportunities, making it even harder for the nation’s poor to survive.
- Food shortages severely affects 270,000 people living with HIV and AIDS, who need a healthy diet to reap the benefit of life-saving antiretroviral treatment.
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