The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) reported in its 2026 Global Outlook mid-year update in June that food “needs remain highly concerning” around the world as 266 million people across food-crisis countries continue to face acute food insecurity.
That number, more than double the number recorded a decade ago according to the WFP, includes millions in sub-Saharan African countries where this year Bread and Water for Africa® supported agriculture and food self -sustainability programs operated by our grassroots, in-country partners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.
The consequences are especially severe for vulnerable groups, including the millions of children in sub-Saharan Africa who are suffering today from acute malnutrition and malnourished breastfeeding women.
Conflict remains the primary driver of food insecurity, affecting more than half of those in need, according to the WFP reports.
“Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring energy market shocks have exacerbated acute food insecurity, pushing food prices higher, spiking fuel and fertilizer costs, supply chain disruptions and weaker household purchasing power,” states the WFP. “Persistent price pressures are expected to continue to weigh on vulnerable households.”
Additionally, a likely El Niño event in the second half of the year raises the risk of climate shocks, including erratic rainfall and extreme weather events across multiple regions, likely affecting livelihoods and food security, reports the WFP.
Over the past three decades, Bread and Water for Africa® has worked in numerous sub-Saharan African countries to initiate agriculture/food self-sustainability programs. Among them, in addition to the four this year, are Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia and Uganda.
This year, 30 years ago, in 1996 ,Bread and Water for Africa® established our first agricultural/food self-sustainability program to provide food for the orphaned and abandoned children living at the Lewa Children’s Home in Eldoret, Kenya, through the creation of the Baraka (Blessed) Farm.
In 2000, Bread and Water for Africa® began a partnership with Yeteem Children & Destitute Mothers Fund in the Afar region of Ethiopia to help families who had lived as pastoral nomads for thousands of years learn agricultural skills to have a continual food source and survive in the 21st century.
In the early 2000s, Bread and Water for Africa® provided support for an agricultural project in the village of Vumba in Mozambique to our partner Emmanuel Ministry, which became known as Shinga Development Trust. In 2014, we provided a grant to Shinga to expand its agricultural projects in Zimbabwe.
In 2007, to support the Kabwata Orphanage in Zambia, Bread and Water for Africa® provided grant funding to develop a banana plantation as a long-term plan for self-sufficiency to generate profits for the daily operations of the children’s home.
In 2008, Bread and Water for Africa® partnered with Faith Healing Development Organization (FHDO) in Sierra Leone to establish an ambitious new farm in the Yankansa region. In 2012, Bread and Water for Africa® provided a grant to FHDO to revive a farmer’s seed bank.
More recently, in 2022, Bread and Water for Africa® provided grant funding to Rural Youth Development Organization-Sierra Leone to provide 75 women and women farmers with training, tools and supplies to help them get the most out their small tracts of land to feed their families and generate income.
In 2023, Bread and Water for Africa® provided grant funding to the Faithful Heart Foundation in Malawi to train smallholder farmers in the Farming God’s Way method of conservation agriculture, which promotes no-tilling of the soil, crop rotation and the application of mulch cover.
In 2024, Bread and Water for Africa® provided grant funding to the Kyasira Home of Hope Orphanage on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, Uganda, to plant 600 banana plants on higher ground after flooding destroyed its banana plantation.
In 2024, Bread and Water for Africa® provided funding to purchase eight hectares (nearly 20 acres) of land to turn into a sustainable and productive farm to benefit dozens of orphaned children living at the Watoto Wa Africa Orphanage (WWAO – Children of Africa) in Tanzania.
In 2025, Bread and Water for Africa® provided clean water for the orphaned and abandoned children living at the CARILINO Orphanage in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not only for drinking and cooking, but also to provide plenty of water for its farming operations.
In 2025, Bread and Water for Africa® provided grant funding to the Lerato Children’s Home in Zimbabwe to install a solar-powered drip irrigation system for its farmland to provide food for the orphaned and abandoned children living there as well as to grow a surplus to generate income.
In 2026, more than 36,000 individuals benefited directly or indirectly through capacity-building training projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Tanzania supported by Bread and Water for Africa®.
Among the new programs was a poultry project to support WWAO’s efforts toward food self-sufficiency, as well as improve the nutrition of the children through regular access to eggs and poultry meat and strengthen the orphanage’s long-term sustainability and reducing external donations by selling eggs and chicken to the local market.
Additionally, the project provides practical training and agricultural skills to children and staff in poultry management, promoting responsibility and entrepreneurship and creating employment opportunities for local youth and women through poultry-related activities such as feeding, cleaning and marketing.
“At Bread and Water for Africa®, we truly believe that investing in the capacity building-building of farmers in Africa is a transformative journey!,” stated Bread and Water for Africa® executive director Beth Tessema.
“Our Food Self-Sustainability Program is dedicated to empowering smallholder family farmers right at the household level.
“We teach them effective practices and provide the essential tools, seeds, and support to cultivate staple foods on their small plots of land.
“It’s not just about farming: it’s about uplifting entire communities, tackling hunger head-on, and sparking vibrant economic growth across the continent.”
For 30 years, Bread and Water for Africa® has helped communities across sub-Saharan Africa turn seeds, tools, training and clean water into nourishment, livelihoods and hope. As hunger deepens, this work is more urgent than ever—not only to meet today’s needs, but to help families build lasting food security, face hardship with dignity and create a future in which their communities can flourish.
