According to a multi-agency UN report, the number of undernourished people has risen to approximately 768 million.

According to a multi-agency United Nations (UN) report released on Monday, the level of hunger and malnutrition in the world deteriorated sharply last year, and most of the increase may be due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to reports issued by United Nations agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to expose the weaknesses of our food system and threaten the lives and livelihoods of people around the world. No part of the world is immune,” the heads of the five UN agencies wrote in the preface this year, warning “crucial moment”.

Although more than half of the malnourished population (418 million) live in Asia, Africa has the largest increase in cases—more than twice as many as in any other region—accounting for 21% of the total population. According to the report, it is estimated that more than one-third of the population (282 million) of the African continent is undernourished.

The report goes on to say that among the victims, children are still the ones who pay the highest price. It is estimated that more than 149 million children under the age of five are stunted.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The report is the first comprehensive assessment of food insecurity and nutrition since the December 2019 pandemic. The report stated that even before the pandemic, hunger spread around the world, and the other main cause of food insecurity is conflict. , Economic recession and extreme weather.

The 2021 edition of “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” estimates that, according to current trends, nearly 660 million people will not be able to achieve the UN’s sustainable development goal of zero hunger by 2030.

This number is 30 million higher than in the absence of a pandemic.

“Our biggest worry is coming true. Arif Hussein, the chief economist of the World Food Program, said that it will take years or even decades to reverse such a high level of chronic hunger.

The report recommends that policymakers take a series of actions to prevent undernourishment, such as including humanitarian, development and peacebuilding policies in conflict areas; strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable groups to economic adversity; and addressing poverty and structural inequality.

After decades of decline, food insecurity has been on the rise since the mid-2010s, especially in countries affected by conflict, extreme weather, economic recession, or the fight against high inequality.

However, last year’s increase was equal to the sum of the previous five years.