Almost 735 million people suffer from hunger

More than 122 million more people face hunger as of 2019 due to the pandemic and repeated climate-related disruptions and conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, according to the latest edition of the State of the Union report. food security and nutrition in the world (SOFI).

Between 691 and 783 million people were hungry in 2022, so the middle of the range is 735 million.

Despite the fact that the number of hungry people in the world has remained relatively stable between 2021 and 2022, there are many parts of the world that are facing a worsening food crisis.

In 2022, progress was observed in Reducing hunger in Asia and Latin Americabut continued to increase western asiain the Caribbean and in all sub-regions of Africa, which remains the most affected region, where one in five people face hunger, more than double the world average.

Likewise, the situation with food security and nutrition remained bad in 2022.

SOFI also found that about 29.6% of the world’s population, equivalent to 2.4 billion people, did not have permanent access to food, judging by the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity. Among them, about 900 million people are facing severe food shortages.

People’s ability to access a healthy diet has worsened worldwide: more than 3.1 billion people worldwide, or 42% of the world’s population, could not afford a healthy diet in 2021. This represents a global increase of 134 million people compared to 2019.

Millions of children under the age of five still suffer from malnutrition: in 2022, 148 million children under the age of five (22.3%) were stunted, 45 million (6.8%) were stunted, and 37 million (5 .6%) were overweight.

The report notes progress in exclusive breastfeeding, with 48% of infants under six months benefiting from the practice, which is close to the 2025 target. However, more concerted action will be needed to achieve the 2030 targets on malnutrition.

If these trends continue, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) eradicating hunger by 2030 will not be achieved, warns The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)he International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)the World Health Organization (WHO)he World Food Program (WFP) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).