In 2023, an estimated 733 million people were starving, while over 2.3 billion grappled with moderate to severe food insecurity, sometimes skipping meals for an entire day or more. Due to acute malnutrition, about a million children die every year, according to the new report “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World”, developed by five specialized UN agencies. The publication indicates that the world’s fight against hunger and malnutrition has regressed back several years to levels last recorded in 2008-2009. “The food system needs deep, structural changes as currently it is oriented towards maximizing profits, not feeding people,” experts suggest.
The latest edition of the report “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World”, published by the five specialized branches of the United Nations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), shows that global crises are exacerbating the problem of malnutrition and hunger. In 2023, it affected an average of 733 million people worldwide, about 152 million more than the year before. This means that 1 in 11 people globally and 1 in 5 in Africa, where the problem is increasingly acute, experienced hunger. The proportion of the population struggling with hunger on this continent has exceeded 20% and continues to rise. In Asia, the level remains unchanged at over 8%, but it still poses a significant challenge because more than half of all people struggling with hunger live in this region. However, progress has been noted in reducing this problem in Latin America (over 6%).
Meanwhile, over 2 billion people wrestle with the problem of food insecurity, meaning they lack regular access to safe, high-quality food. Among those 2.3 billion, 864 million have experienced severe food insecurity, sometimes not eating for an entire day or longer. These numbers have not significantly changed since the sharp increase in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, this problem mainly affects Africa, where it impacts as much as 58% of the population.
According to the FAO report, hunger and malnutrition remain a significant issue particularly among children – worldwide, an average of 1 in 4 children under the age of five experiences malnutrition, which impacts their survival chances and can lead to long-term harm, stunting physical growth and brain development. In total, about 45 million children globally suffer from extreme malnutrition, causing bodily emaciation, and over a million die annually.
Data showed that in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, the world has regressed overall by several years – back to levels last recorded in 2008-2009.
As pointed out by experts from the Climate Coalition, the majority of development aid directed by the West towards countries affected by hunger and malnutrition is used to support food consumption. Significantly less, only about a third of funds, is spent on tackling the real causes of this problem. This allows for a temporary reduction in the number of people experiencing hunger but does not eliminate it.
The Climate Coalition describes the report as a “report of shame”, as the problem of hunger and malnutrition continues to deepen at a time when simultaneously more and more people suffer from overweight and obesity and up to 40% of food is wasted. Therefore, just increasing the amount of food produced won’t suffice – even if there will be more food available, and the world continues to develop aid programs for regions affected by hunger, it won’t disappear. The problem is, among other issues, a lack of balance between food production and access to it.
According to experts, the food system needs profound, structural changes. These include reducing pressure on the environment, upon which agriculture production relies, urgent adaptive actions that increase the resilience of agriculture to the effects of climate change in poor countries, and changing the way we eat.
As indicated by the FAO report, the problem of hunger and malnutrition has worsened due to a combination of several different factors, including economic slowdown, increasing conflicts and persistently high food prices. Changes in climate, which impact agriculture, also play a significant role.
The trend of worsening hunger and malnutrition is expected to continue, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the authors of the latest report on the scale of hunger and malnutrition. According to their projections, it is unlikely that the world will be able to achieve zero hunger by 2030, a goal established within the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
