Opinion: Localization — a Seed That Bears Fruit Even When We’re Not There

By Charles E. Owubah
Apr 26, 2024 12:35 PM ET

Originally published in Devex. 

A sea change is underway, one that recognizes the power of local solutions to global challenges. Charles E. Owubah, CEO of Action Against Hunger, sheds light on two successful examples.

We’ve seen localization deliver powerful results across issues ranging from strengthening health systems to addressing gender inequality to building and managing water infrastructure. A local lens is essential when addressing what has been called the “biggest threat modern humans have ever faced”: the climate crisis.

More frequent and severe heatwaves, droughts and floods, changes in soil alkalinity, and other factors mean that traditional farming practices aren’t as effective as they once were. Since many smallholder farmers rarely rose above subsistence production levels, decreased yields mean growing malnutrition. In other words, the climate crisis is a hunger crisis.

Read more in Devex. 

About Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger is a nonprofit leader in the global movement to end hunger, innovating solutions, advocating for change, and reaching 28 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs spanning 55 countries. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.

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Photos by Kenneal Patterson for Action Against Hunger