The latest UN report released on Wednesday paints an alarming picture in which one in 10 people – or between 702 million and 828 million people – around the world faced hunger in 2021.
The fact that this data shows at least 50 million more hungry people than in 2020 indicates that efforts to eliminate hunger and malnutrition are sliding.
The report was produced jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Around 2.3 billion people in 2021, 350 million more than before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, lacked regular access to nutritious food needed to live a healthy life, meaning they were food insecure.
Nearly 924 million of these people faced severe food insecurity- they’ve run out of food at some point or have gone without food for a day or more- 207 million more than two years ago.
Due to the impact of the war in Ukraine on international supply chains and the global price spikes in food, fuel, and fertilizers that threaten to push countries around the world into famine, the number of hungry people could rise even more in 2022, WFP chief David Beasley warned.
The report underlines that the number of people that will still be facing hunger in 2030 – the deadline that the UN has set to achieve zero hunger as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – will be 670 million.
That means that the 2030 agenda has had no impact whatsoever since this number represents 8% of the world population, which is the same as in 2015 when the agenda was launched.
The report has also found an increased gender gap between men and women affected by hunger with hunger being more prevalent among women. The major drivers behind the latest rise in food insecurity and malnutrition, as listed in the report, are conflicts, climate extremes, and economic shocks.
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