Hungry people worldwide rise to 768 million, 150 million more than before the pandemic

MADRID, 6 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Some 768 million people suffer from hunger around the world, according to a new UN report that warns that the figure has skyrocketed by 150 million compared to statistics collected before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. and it is called to act as soon as possible to contain an emergency that threatens to worsen.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) shows that the goal of zero hunger in 2030 is increasingly distant, with constant increases in food insecurity that threaten to go further in the coming months due to collateral effects of crises such as the war in Ukraine.

The estimates in this document keep the number of hungry people in a range of between 702 and 828 million, with the aim of reflecting the uncertainties associated mainly with the COVID-19 pandemic, for which it establishes the midpoint of 768 as a reference millions.

Almost 670 million people are expected to go hungry in 2030, a figure similar to that of 2015, when the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established, according to the study, prepared by several UN agencies, including the Organization for Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF),

The number of people affected by hunger had remained practically stable since 2015, but the coronavirus pandemic marked a turning point. Thus, if in 2019 8 percent of the world population fell into this category, in 2021 it already represented 9.8 percent, almost a tenth.

The proportion is around 29.3 percent --some 2.3 billion people-- if those who suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity are taken into account, with 924 million who are in this last step, which leaves the population exposed to serious health risks that even threaten to cost them their lives.

Hunger is also gendered, as the gap continues to widen and is already over 4 points: 31.9 percent of women suffered from moderate or severe food insecurity in 2021, compared to 27.6 percent of men.

As for childhood, experts estimate that 45 million children under the age of five suffered from wasting and were up to 12 times more likely to die. The UN estimates that 149 million children under the age of five suffer from stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients.

Some 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet, which, according to the United Nations, reflects the effects of food price inflation as a result of the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted by the different governments to contain it.

The report does not take this year's data into account, but it does note that the war in Ukraine may cast new shadows on world food security, since it involves two key grain producers and there is widespread disruption of the supply chain. supplies at different levels, with the effect that this entails on prices.

The executive director of the WFP, David Beasley, detects a "real danger" that the hunger figures continue to rise in the coming months, largely due to the conflict in Ukraine. "As a consequence, there will be global destabilization, hunger and mass migration on an unprecedented level."

Beasley has called for "acting today to avoid this imminent catastrophe", a thesis that is also shared by the head of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, who has called for "an unprecedented response" to the current emergency and "redoubled efforts", since she considers that "we can't waste time" and lives are at stake.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that every year 11 million people die from unhealthy diets and "rising food prices mean this will only get worse."