Global hunger levels have skyrocketed due to conflict, climate change and the economic impact of COVID-19, as between 720 and 811 million people worldwide faced hunger in 2020.
The information can be found in a report on “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 (SOFI), jointly released by five UN agencies on Monday.”
He said more people faced hunger and malnutrition in 2020 than before.
The report is published jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Food Program World Health Organization (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the report, the pandemic continues to expose weaknesses in food systems, which threaten the lives and livelihoods of people around the world.
Heads of the agencies wrote in the report that “about a tenth of the world’s population – between 720 million people and 811 million – were undernourished last year.
“Some 418 million of that number were in Asia and 282 million in Africa.
“Globally, 2.4 billion people did not have access to sufficiently nutritious food in 2020, an increase of almost 320 million people in one year.
The report also highlights how climate change has left communities in developing countries most at risk of hunger – despite contributing little to global CO2 emissions.
“These poorest nations are also the least prepared to resist or respond to climate change,” said Gernot Laganda of WFP, who added that “weather-related shocks and stresses have resulted in hunger like never before.
“This suggests that it will take a huge effort for the world to deliver on its pledge to end hunger by 2030.
“The healthy development of children has also suffered, with more than 149 million children under five affected by stunting and 370 million missing school meals in 2020, due to school closures during the pandemic. coronavirus.
Today, 150 million young people still do not have access to a school lunch, said WFP, which urged countries to restore these programs and put in place “better programs that give children and children a future. communities “.
WFP Executive Director David Beasley also said that “the report highlights a devastating reality, noting that the road to zero hunger is stopped dead in its tracks by conflict, climate change and COVID-19”.
The future potential of children “is destroyed by hunger”, he insisted. “The world must act to save this lost generation before it is too late.” (NAN)
