In the volatile and often turbulent landscape of the Arab world, food and water security have increasingly become vital pillars of national stability. These resources are not merely about nourishment and hydration-they are intrinsically tied to the region’s broader political, social, and economic equilibrium. As conflicts flare from Syria to Yemen, and external powers continue to exploit regional fractures, the Arab world faces an unprecedented threat to its ability to feed and sustain its populations. The growing food and water crises risk not only humanitarian disaster but also further regional chaos and instability.
Recent data from an array of international agencies-including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia-paint a stark and alarming picture. As of 2024, more than 69 million people across the Arab world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. This humanitarian crisis has escalated due to a complex interplay of climate change, pandemics, ongoing wars, and economic disruptions.
The effects are visible and brutal. Children face stunted growth and cognitive impairment due to chronic malnutrition; millions endure acute food shortages; and entire communities suffer from water scarcity that compounds health and agricultural challenges. The Arab world’s chronic vulnerabilities have been exacerbated by a changing climate that intensifies droughts, floods, and desertification, threatening arable land and water resources.
The region’s political instability acts as a multiplier of food and water insecurity. Conflicts that displace millions, destroy agricultural infrastructure, and interrupt supply chains have a direct and devastating impact on food production and access.
Take Syria, for example. The conflict, now over a decade old, continues to ravage the country’s agricultural heartlands. The recent unrest in Sweida, exacerbated by Israeli airstrikes aimed at “protecting” minority populations, only deepens the fragility of local food systems. These strikes, viewed by many Arab governments as blatant violations of sovereignty, disrupt farming activities and supply routes, further destabilizing a population already struggling with shortages.
In Gaza, the situation is nothing short of catastrophic. Years of blockades, restrictions on imports, and recurrent Israeli military operations have left over 90 percent of the population facing acute food shortages as of mid-2025. This level of deprivation approaches famine-like conditions, with water scarcity compounding the problem. Gaza’s dwindling access to clean water further endangers public health and agricultural sustainability.
Lebanon’s spiraling economic crisis has also hit food security hard. Ninety percent of the agricultural workforce suffers from diminished purchasing power, food prices have skyrocketed, and agricultural output has plummeted. In Sudan, armed conflicts have forced 40 percent of farmers off their lands, driving food prices up by more than 70 percent and leaving millions hungry.
Yemen, long the poster child of humanitarian crisis in the region, continues to endure devastation. The war, compounded by US and Israeli military strikes that have destroyed vital irrigation systems, has pushed 70 percent of Yemen’s population into food insecurity. Seventeen million people face acute hunger-a humanitarian nightmare perpetuated by external military involvement and internal strife.
Libya and Syria face similar challenges, with large-scale displacement halting cultivation and deepening dependency on food imports. These interconnected crises underscore how conflict and geopolitics disrupt the delicate balance needed for food and water security.
Water scarcity in the Arab world is perhaps the most severe in the world. While the region is home to approximately 5 percent of the global population, it possesses barely 1 percent of renewable freshwater resources. Agriculture, which consumes roughly 80 percent of this scarce water, is directly threatened by dwindling supplies.
Climate change intensifies droughts and reduces river flows in critical basins such as the Euphrates, Tigris, and Nile, which underpin much of the region’s farming. But beyond environmental factors, geopolitical disputes over water exacerbate scarcity.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile is a flashpoint. Ethiopia’s massive dam threatens to reduce water flows to Egypt and Sudan by up to 25 percent, jeopardizing the agricultural livelihoods of millions who depend on the Nile’s waters. In the West Bank, Israeli control over water aquifers leads to the diversion of approximately 85 percent of water resources to settlements, leaving Palestinians with per capita water availability well below World Health Organization minimums.
Similar upstream water manipulation is underway in Syria and Iraq, where Turkey’s dams on the Euphrates have cut flows by up to 40 percent. These “water wars” exacerbate tensions and threaten to ignite broader conflicts, as access to water becomes a zero-sum game in an already volatile region.
Arab countries remain heavily dependent on food imports to meet their population needs. The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development’s 2024 report reveals a sobering reality: the region imports over 50 percent of its staple foods, with self-sufficiency rates alarmingly low-wheat at 35 percent, maize 23 percent, rice 48 percent, and edible oils 34 percent. Meat and dairy fare somewhat better but still reflect significant import reliance.
This dependency exposes Arab economies to the whims of global markets. Since 2022, global food prices have surged by 20 to 30 percent, a rise that disproportionately impacts import-dependent nations. War zones experience even sharper declines in agricultural output-between 30 and 50 percent-widening the food gap and swelling import costs to around $100 billion annually.
Such vulnerabilities jeopardize national security. Food and water insecurity leave countries susceptible to external manipulation. Foreign powers leverage these scarcities as geopolitical tools-using sieges, blockades, and economic sanctions to advance strategic interests. The ongoing blockade of Gaza, for instance, reflects a situation where food deprivation becomes a weapon, backed by international actors, including arms supplies from the West.
Despite the grim landscape, there is hope-rooted in Arab agency and the potential for regional solidarity. Experts and policymakers stress the imperative for cooperative, integrated approaches to food and water security. Fragmentation only deepens vulnerabilities; unity can create resilience.
Possible pathways include joint agricultural projects, shared irrigation infrastructure within the Gulf Cooperation Council, and broader Nile Basin cooperation initiatives. Knowledge exchange in areas like desalination technology, drought-resistant crops, and water recycling must be accelerated.
Adopting climate-smart agriculture and innovative technologies such as hydroponics, vertical farming, and genetically engineered seeds designed for arid environments could significantly boost production. Strategic food reserves, better subsidies for local farmers, and integrated water management policies aligned with national security priorities will also be crucial.
Projects like the UAE’s Masdar City and Saudi Arabia’s NEOM illustrate the region’s potential for blending renewable energy with sustainable agriculture, paving the way for reducing import dependence and closing the water gap by up to 30 percent.
The Arab world’s future hinges on transforming anxiety about food and water insecurity into decisive, coordinated action. Geopolitical tensions-from proxy wars between Iran and Saudi Arabia to the superpower rivalries of the US and China-show no signs of easing. Yet, food and water security must rise above politics as existential imperatives.
By fostering self-reliance through regional cooperation, investment in innovation, and equitable resource management, Arab nations can shield themselves from external predation, protect their populations, and safeguard their sovereignty. The opportunity to avert chaos and hunger is before them; what remains needed is the political will and unified vision to seize it.
Without this, the recipe for regional chaos-fuelled by scarcity, conflict, and foreign manipulation-will continue to haunt the Arab world for generations to come.