The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says the number of humans suffering from hunger globally rose to 733m in 2023. The UN agency also noted that anaemia, a health challenge related to not having enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to the body tissues, has significantly increased in women aged 15 to 49 years.
According to the report, titled “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)”, the world is falling significantly short of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2—Zero Hunger, by 2030.
This means that the world has been set back 15 years in the quest to eradicate hunger, with levels of undernourishment comparable to records of 2008-2009.
According to FAO, hunger surge was mostly recorded in Western Asia, the Caribbean, and most African subregions, stating that between 713 and 757 million people were undernourished in 2023, which implies approximately 152 million more than in 2019 when considering the mid-range (733 million).
The report said, “Regional trends vary significantly: the percentage of the population facing hunger continues to rise in Africa (20.4 per cent), remains stable in Asia (8.1 percent)—though still representing a significant challenge as the region is home to more than half of those facing hunger worldwide —and shows progress in Latin America (6.2 per cent)”.
If current trends continue, the UN agencies warned that about 582 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030, half of them in Africa, adding that the projection closely resembles the levels seen in 2015 when the SDGs were adopted, marking a concerning stagnation in progress.
The SOFI report highlights that access to adequate food remains elusive for billions and that in 2023, around 2.3 billion people globally faced moderate or severe food insecurity, a number that has not changed significantly since the sharp upturn in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of this figure, the report acknowledged that over 864 million people experienced severe food insecurity, going without food for an entire day or more at times.
The agency said, “This number has remained stubbornly high since 2020 and while Latin America shows improvement, broader challenges persist, especially in Africa where 58 per cent of the population is moderately or severely food insecure.
“The prevalence of wasting among children has not seen significant improvement while anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years has increased.
“Food insecurity and malnutrition are worsening due to a combination of factors, including persisting food price inflation that continues to erode economic gains for many people in many countries. Major drivers like conflict, climate change, and economic downturns are becoming more frequent and severe”.
Reacting to the report, FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, said “Transforming agrifood systems is more critical than ever as we face the urgency of achieving the SDGs within six short years.
“We will work together with all partners and with all approaches, including the G20 Global Alliance against hunger and poverty, to accelerate the needed change. Together, we must innovate and collaborate to build more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems that can better withstand future challenges for a better world”.
Also, IFAD President, Alvaro Lario, said the fastest route out of hunger and poverty is proven to be through investments in agriculture in rural areas. However, he said the global and financial landscape has become far more complex since the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2015.
“Ending hunger and malnutrition demands that we invest more – and more smartly. We must bring new money into the system from the private sector and recapture the pandemic-era appetite for ambitious global financial reform that gets cheaper financing to the countries who need it most,” it said.
