Hunger is still growing in the world, according to the UN

After decades of decline, undernourishment has been steadily recovering since 2015. For the third year in a row, world hunger is on the rise, according to an annual report released Monday (July 15th) by several UN organizations.

"A huge challenge"

According to this document entitled "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World", hunger affected 821.6 million people worldwide in 2018, compared to 811 the year before. As one of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the prospect of a world without any undernourished people by this deadline is a "huge challenge," the report notes.

Undernourishment remains prevalent in many continents: Africa (nearly 20% of the population concerned), Latin America and the Caribbean (less than 7%) and Asia (more than 12%). By adding famine-stricken populations to food-insecure people, it is estimated that more than two billion people, 8% of whom live in North America and Europe, do not have regular access to healthy, nutritious food. and in sufficient quantity.

"A structural transformation"

"In order to maintain food security and nutrition, economic and social policies are essential to counteract the effects of adverse economic cycles at all costs, while avoiding the reduction of essential services such as health care and health. education, says the report prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with the support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN Fund for Children (Unicef), the World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Calling for an inclusive "structural transformation" with the poorest, the paper calls for "integrating food security and nutrition concerns into poverty reduction efforts" while addressing gender inequalities and the exclusion of social groups.

FAO also considers that progress is insufficient to achieve the 2030 goal of halving the number of stunted children. Today, 149 million children are affected by such a delay.

Paradoxically, the report notes that overweight and obesity continue to increase in all regions, especially among school-age children and adults.

With AFP