Ending hunger and malnutrition demands that we
invest more - and more smartly, says IFAD President
RIO DE
JANEIRO, July 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Around
733 million people faced hunger in 2023, equivalent to one in
eleven people globally and one in five in Africa, according to the latest State of Food
Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report published today
by five United Nations specialized agencies: the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme
(WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Launched this year in the context of the G20 Global
Alliance against Hunger and Poverty Task Force Ministerial
Meeting in Brazil, the annual
report shows that the world has been set back 15 years, with levels
of undernourishment comparable to those in 2008-2009.
Despite some progress, an alarming number of people continue to
face food insecurity and malnutrition as global hunger levels
plateau for three consecutive years, with approximately 152 million
more hungry people than in 2019 (733 million).
Following current trends, about 582 million people will be
chronically undernourished in 2030, half in Africa. Economic access to healthy diets
remains a critical issue, affecting over one-third of the global
population: over 2.8 billion people were unable to afford a healthy
diet in 2022. This disparity is most pronounced in low-income
countries.
The percentage of the population facing hunger continues to rise
in Africa (20.4 percent), while
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 percent). From 2022 to 2023, hunger increased
in Western Asia, the Caribbean, and most African subregions.
Alvaro Lario, President of
IFAD said: "The fastest route out of hunger and poverty is
proven to be through investments in agriculture in rural areas. But
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 to bring cheaper financing to the
countries that need it most."
Contact: Alberto Trillo Barca,
Communication Officer: a.trillobarca@ifad.org
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SOURCE International Fund for Agricultural Development