LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) – Global hunger levels rose again last year after erupting in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Ukrainian war and climate change which threatened hunger and mass migration on an “unprecedented scale” this year, he reported. UN agencies.
As many as 828 million people, or almost 10% of the world’s population, were affected by famine last year, 46 million more than in 2020 and 150 million more than in 2019, agencies such as the World Health Organization ‘Agriculture and Food, the World Food Program and World Health. The organization said in the 2022 edition of the United Nations Food and Nutrition Security Report.
World hunger levels remained relatively unchanged between 2015 and 2019.
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“There is a real danger that these figures will rise further in the coming months,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley, adding that the peaks in food, fuel and fertilizer prices from the war between Russia and Ukraine threaten to push countries into famine.
“The result will be global destabilization, famine and mass migration on an unprecedented scale. We must act today to prevent this impending catastrophe,” he added.
Russia and Ukraine are the third and fourth largest grain exporters in the world, respectively, while Russia is also a key exporter of fuels and fertilizers.
The war has disrupted its exports, pushed world food prices to record levels and sparked protests in developing countries already struggling with high food prices due to supply chain interruptions related to VOCID- 19.
The UN report released on Wednesday warned of the “potentially worrying” implications for food security and nutrition as conflicts, climate extremes, economic shocks and inequalities continue to intensify.
It was estimated that by 2020 globally, 22% of children under the age of 5 would have suffered growth retardation, while 6.7% or 45 million would have suffered from emaciation, a deadly form of malnutrition that increases the risk of death up to 12 times.
Calling for a review of agricultural policies, the report said the global food and agriculture sector received nearly $ 630 billion a year in support that often distorted market prices, did not reach small farmers, harmed the environment environment and does not promote the production of nutritious food.
This support includes subsidies that target primarily high-calorie staple foods like cereals, sugar, meat, and dairy at the expense of healthier, more nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and seeds.
“Every year 11 million people die due to unhealthy diets. Rising food prices mean this will only get worse,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“WHO supports countries’ efforts to improve food systems by taxing unhealthy foods, subsidizing healthy choices, protecting children from malicious marketing, and ensuring clear nutrition labels, ”he added.
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Edited by Alison Williams
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