Why UN Global Hunger Report Figures Are Staggering: 150 Million Added Post Covid
Even since coronavirus hit the world, over 150 million people have been added to the list of those affected by hunger, a new report by the United Nations has revealed.
The goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030 remains a far cry with the latest UN global hunger report revealing that 828 million people – across the world – were in the list in 2021 – a surge of 46 million as compared to the previous year.
“After remaining relatively unchanged since 2015, the proportion of people affected by hunger jumped in 2020 and continued to rise in 2021, to 9.8 per cent of the world population. This compares with 8 per cent in 2019 and 9.3 per cent in 2020,” highlights the State of Food Security and Nutrition report by the United Nations.
Of the world’s total population, around 2.3 billion – or nearly 29.3 per cent – were “moderately or severely food insecure in 2021,” it says. The figure is staggering to say the least, implying that one-third of the world is affected. The figure was 350 million higher as compared to the pre-pandemic levels. About 11 per cent of the total population – or 924 million people – “faced food insecurity at severe levels”.
The gender gap too is prominent. About 31.9 per cent of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure, compared to 27.6 per cent of men. This gap of 4 percentage points is higher than 3 percent in 2021.
The report gives a reflection on the rising prices of essentials too – about 3.1 billion could not afford a healthy diet in 2020. Around 45 million children in the world – under the age of five – suffered from wasting. This is said to be the deadliest form of malnutrition, which increases children’s risk of death by up to 12 times.
“This report repeatedly highlights the intensification of these major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition: conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks, combined with growing inequalities,” the heads of the five UN agencies (2) wrote in this year’s Foreword. “The issue at stake is not whether adversities will continue to occur or not, but how we must take bolder action to build resilience against future shocks.”