United Nations report: epidemic or worsening global hunger is expected to add more than 130 million hungry people by the end of 2020

　　China News Service, Beijing, July 14 (Liu Liang) An annual United Nations research report shows that the number of hungry people in the world continues to increase. Over the past five years, the number of people suffering from chronic undernourishment has increased by tens of millions, and countries around the world are still fighting various forms of malnutrition.

　　The latest edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, released on the 14th, estimates that nearly 690 million people will be hungry in 2019, an increase of 10 million compared with 2018 and an increase of nearly 60 million compared with five years ago. According to the report's prediction, the new coronary pneumonia epidemic may increase the number of chronically hungry people by more than 130 million people by the end of 2020.

　　"The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" is the most authoritative global research report in this field, prepared jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.

　　The heads of the five agencies warned, "Five years ago, the world made a commitment to eradicate hunger, food insecurity, and all forms of malnutrition. However, five years later, we still cannot guarantee that this will be achieved by 2030. aims."

　　Interpreting hunger-related figures

　　In this annual report, due to the update of key data of China and other populous countries, the global estimate of the number of hungry people has been significantly reduced, currently at 690 million. But the general trend has not changed: after decades of steady decline in the number of chronically hungry people, it has slowly increased since 2014 and continues to maintain this trend.

　　Asia still has the largest number of undernourished people (381 million), Africa ranks second (250 million), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (48 million). The global prevalence of undernourishment, that is, the proportion of hungry people, has basically remained at 8.9%, but the absolute number has been increasing since 2014. This means that in the past five years, the number of hungry people has grown synchronously with the global population.

　　Behind it is the huge difference between the regions: in terms of percentages, Africa is the most serious and continues to deteriorate. A total of 19.1% of the African population is undernourished, which is Asia (8.3%) and Latin America and the Caribbean ( 7.4%) more than twice. According to current trends, by 2030, more than half of the world’s chronically hungry people will be in Africa.

　　The impact of the epidemic

　　While fighting progress related to fighting hunger, the epidemic is highlighting the vulnerability and deficiencies of the global food system, including all activities and processes involved in food production, circulation, and consumption in the system. Although it is too early to assess the full impact of the blockade and other restrictive measures, the report estimates that due to the economic recession caused by the epidemic, the number of hungry people will increase by at least about 83 million in 2020, and may even add 132 million. This setback makes people more doubtful whether it is still possible to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).

Unhealthy diet, food insecurity and malnutrition

　　Eliminating hunger and various forms of malnutrition (including undernutrition, trace element deficiencies, overweight, and obesity) not only means that people need to get enough food to support their own survival, but the food must also be rich in nutrients, especially food for children. For many families, the high cost of nutritious food makes them unable to afford a healthy diet.

　　The report points out that the cost of healthy meals is higher than the international poverty line of US$1.90 per day. Even the cheapest healthy meal is five times the price of a pure starch meal. Nutrient-rich dairy products, fruits, vegetables and high-protein foods are the most expensive food categories around the world.

　　According to the latest estimates, more than 3 billion people in the world cannot afford the cost of healthy meals. In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, 57% of the population falls into this category. According to the report, between one-quarter and one-third of children under five (191 million) in 2019 face stunting or weight loss. In addition, 38 million children under five are overweight. At the same time, obesity has spread globally among adults.

　　Call for action

　　The report pointed out that encouraging people to change to a healthy diet globally can reverse the current trend of falling back into hunger and save a lot of money. According to report calculations, this shift can almost completely remove the health costs caused by unhealthy diets, which are estimated to be as high as US$1.3 trillion per year by 2030, and at the same time, it can also be related to diets caused by greenhouse gas emissions, which are estimated to be as high as US$1.7 trillion. Reduce social costs by three quarters.

　　The report urges the transformation of the food system to reduce the cost of nutritious food and increase the economic affordability of healthy diets.

　　The report also calls on governments to integrate nutrition issues into their mainstream agricultural policies; strive to reduce the factors that lead to rising costs in food production, storage, transportation, circulation, and sales; support small-scale producers to produce and sell more nutritious foods and protect their markets Access; give priority to child nutrition as the group that needs the most attention; encourage behavior change through education and publicity; integrate nutrition into the national social protection system and investment strategy. (Finish)