About 735 million of people around the world suffered chronic hunger in 2022many more than before the pandemic Covid-19which “jeopardizes the global goal of ending hunger for 2030warned a report from the United Nations.
A multi-year upward trend in hunger rates leveled off last year as many countries recovered from the pandemicbut the war in Ukraine and its pressure on food and energy prices offset some gains, said the UN in its annual report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI).
The result is that it is estimated that in 2022 there would be 122 million more hungry people than in 2019 and the world is “very far” from meeting the Sustainable Development Goal of the UN to end hunger 2030according to the report, which predicts that 600 million people will be undernourished by that year.
The hunger in the world
The report was produced by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the World Food Program and FAO.
According to the results, the main causes of hunger in the world in recent years have to do with conflicts that affected livelihoods, weather conditions extreme conditions that threatened agricultural production and economic difficulties exacerbated by the pandemic.
In some parts of the world hunger decreased, as in South America and in most regions of Asia. But in the Caribbean, Western Asia and Africa it is increasing.
The data that worries
There are 122 million more hungry people compared to the 2019 data, which represents approximately 735 million people suffering from hunger today, compared to 613 million three years ago.
The situation of the food safety and the nutrition It remained grim in 2022. Some 29.6% of the world’s population did not have consistent access to food, while another 900 million people faced severe food insecurity.
At the same time, the ability of people to access healthy diets deteriorated all over the world: a 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.
Meanwhile, in 2022, 22.3% of children under five years suffered from growth retardation malnutrition6.8% suffered from wasting (low weight for height), and 5.6% were overweight.
If the trends continue in this way, it will not be possible to reach the Sustainable Development Goal (ODS) to put end hunger by 2030.
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SOFI
Urbanization and agri-food changes
The trend of increased urbanization It affects what food people eat and how they eat it. It is expected that by 2050, 7 out of 10 people will live in cities. In this context, governments and others working to combat hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition must try to understand these urbanization trends and take them into account when formulate their policies.
The report revealed that food purchases are significant not only among rural households, but also across the rural-urban continuum, including those residing far from urban centers. Also, the consumption of highly processed foods it is also increasing in peri-urban and rural areas of some countries.
At the same time, the food insecurity It affects more people living in rural areas, and the child malnutrition it also shows urban and rural particularities: the prevalence of stunting in children is 35.8% higher in rural areas, compared to 22.4% in urban areas.
Finally, the data from specialists affirm that, in order to promote food security and nutrition, policies, measures and investments they must be guided by a greater understanding of the relationship between the rural-urban continuum and agri-food systems.
Source: Ambito
