The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) latest report showed that over 122 million additional people globally have been facing hunger since 2019 as a direct consequence of the pandemic, repeated extreme weather events, and international conflicts, including the Ukraine war.
The report was published in collaboration with five specialised UN (United Nations) agencies, including the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations), IFAD (the International Fund for Agricultural Development), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), WHO (World Health Organisation) and The World Food Programme (WFP).
The report indicated that if these were continuing trends, the Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030 would not be achieved. Between 691 million and 783 million people grappled with hunger in 2022, with a median range of 735 million. These numbers present an increase of 122 million people since 2019.
Global hunger numbers may have stalled between 2021 and 2022, but the fact remained that many regions globally were dealing with worsening food insecurity and crises.
Asia and Latin America observed some progress. However, overall hunger continued to rise in Western Asia, the Caribbean and across all subregions of Africa in 2022, with Africa remaining the most affected region as one in five people face hunger in the continent which is more than double the worldwide average.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that while there was hope in some regions that the 2030 goal could be achieved, the overall reality indicated an urgent and immediate global need and effort to make these goals a reality worldwide.
