The figures of hunger in the world worry again and again.

The number of people on the verge of famine in 43 countries has reached 45 million, the World Food Program warned on Monday.

The jump from 42 million at the start of the year to 45 million people at risk of hunger was seen thanks to a food insecurity assessment that found a further three million people now face famine in Afghanistan, according to the UN agency headquartered in Rome.

Conflicts, climate change and Covid-19

“Tens of millions of people are on the brink. Conflict, climate change and Covid-19 have increased the number of people in acute famine, ”said WFP Executive Director David Beasley after a trip to Afghanistan, where the organization is helping nearly 23 million of people. "Fuel prices are rising, food prices are skyrocketing, fertilizers are more expensive, all of these are fueling a new crisis like the one now plaguing Afghanistan, as well as long-standing emergencies like Yemen." and in Syria, ”he added.

The cost of preventing famine worldwide is $ 7 billion, up from $ 6.6 billion at the start of the year, but it must be taken into account that the mechanisms traditional funding sources are overwhelmed.

Families who face acute food insecurity are forced to "make devastating choices", marrying underage children, removing them from school or feeding them with locusts, leaves or cacti, according to the report. PAM.

News reports from Afghanistan also report "families forced to sell their children in a desperate attempt to survive".

More than 12 million Syrians affected

Numerous droughts in Afghanistan combined with an economic collapse have severely affected families, while 12.4 million people in Syria do not know how to get their next meal, more than at any time during this conflict that started ten years ago, according to WFP.

Situations of acute famine are also observed in Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, Angola, Kenya and Burundi.

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