Over 258 million people faced food insecurity in 2022: UN report

Almost 258 million people across 58 countries, or 22.7 per cent of the analysed population, faced severe hunger last year due to conflicts, climate change and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a United Nations report. The data released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization stated it was the fourth consecutive year in which the number of people facing food crises increased substantially - a “stinging indictment of humanity’s failure”.

The report is presented by the Global Report on Food Crises, an alliance of humanitarian organisations founded by the UN and the European Union. It shows that the number of countries where food insecurity had increased due to economic shocks had increased from 21 to 27.

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"Nearly 258 million people in 58 countries/territories were in Crisis or worse acute food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above, or equivalent) in 2022 – up from 193million in 53 countries/territories in 2021," reads the report.

Top 10 hungriest countries

According to the report, the top 10 hungriest countries in the world are -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen, Myanmar, the Syrian Arab Republic, Sudan, Ukraine and Pakistan.

"More than half of the 376,400 people in the catastrophe were in Somalia (214,100), but these extreme conditions also affected populations in SouthSudan (87,000), Yemen (31,000), Afghanistan (20,300), Haiti for the first time in GRFC history (19,200), Nigeria (3,000) and Burkina Faso (1,800)," added the report.

Reflecting on the findings of the report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was a failure to implement UN goals to end world hunger.

“Rising poverty, deepening inequalities, rampant underdevelopment, the climate crisis and natural disasters also contribute to food insecurity,” said Guterres.

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Interplay of causes driving hunger

Rein Paulsen, director of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said an interplay of causes was driving global hunger. Climate shocks, conflicts, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine which had a drastic effect on the global trade of fertilisers, wheat, maize and sunflower oil were a few of the reasons that contributed to the problem.

“The latest figures on the global acute food insecurity situation paint a very concerning picture. They tell us that now for four consecutive reports, four consecutive years, we have a situation that’s getting worse: the prevalence of populations facing acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse have increased for the fourth consecutive year," said Paulsen.

“This report is vitally important because it tells decision makers, it tells donors, it informs operational agencies and governments about the need for urgent action, scaled-up action, and the right type of action to address the situation,” he added.

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Globally, only four per cent of all funding goes to food security interventions. The report and its damning findings should propel the countries and global bodies to pledge more money to ensure food reaches the tables of the most marginalised, the experts said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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