A 3-year-old in Yemen recovers in 2021 in his parents’ home after enduring years of malnourishment. World hunger has increased globally, making it difficult for many countries to meet U.N. goals for food security and malnutrition by 2030.
Photo by Ahmed Haleem, courtesy UNICEF
Food insecurity has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting over 800 million people globally in 2021, according to a July United Nations report.
About 150 million people have become food insecure since 2020, when the pandemic spread around the world, according to “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.” The findings underscore the fact that world agencies will struggle to meet U.N. goals of ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030.
Africa, Asia and Latin America face the highest rates of food insecurity globally, said the report, which was supported by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other agencies. Major drivers of food insecurity include conflict, climate change and economic factors due to the pandemic, the research found.
Conflict, such as in Ukraine, Afghanistan and in several African countries, is detrimental to food security, as it impacts the food system from production to consumption, according to David Beasley, JD, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program.
The war in Ukraine — which is a major source for much of the world’s wheat — has especially impacted global hunger, disrupting international supply chains and spiking prices on agriculture goods and energy. Somalia, which received almost all of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia, has been particularly affected, with shortages of food and a drought signaling a major looming crisis.
Acquiring nutritious food at affordable prices has become a challenge, the report said. Climate change has decreased productivity, and the pandemic has further bottlenecked supply chains.
The report presents solutions to achieve food security. They include implementing peace building policies and lowering cost in the supply chain. The measures are designed to repurpose food and agriculture support by increasing access to nutritious foods.
“The evidence suggests that if governments repurpose the resources to prioritize food consumers, and to incentivize sustainable production, supply and consumption of nutritious foods, they will help make healthy diets less costly and more affordable for all,” the report said.
For more information, visit www.unicef.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
