Global food insecurity surges as almost 300 million face 'acute hunger': report
UN agencies and development groups have reported that food insecurity worsened around the world in 2023, with some 282 million people suffering from acute hunger due to conflicts, particularly in Gaza and Sudan.
The report, which described the global outlook as "bleak" for this year, is produced for an international alliance bringing together UN agencies, the European Union and governmental and non-governmental bodies.
2023 was the fifth consecutive year of rises in the number of people suffering acute food insecurity – defined as when populations face food deprivation that threatens lives or livelihoods, regardless of the causes or length of time.
Extreme weather events and economic shocks also added to the number of those facing acute food insecurity, which grew by 24 million people compared with 2022, according to the latest global report on food crises from the Food Security Information Network.
Much of last year's increase was due to report's expanded geographic coverage, as well as deteriorating conditions in 12 countries.
More geographical areas experienced "new or intensified shocks" while there was a "marked deterioration in key food crisis contexts such as Sudan and the Gaza Strip", said Fleur Wouterse, deputy director of the emergencies office within the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.
Since the first report by the Global Food Crisis Network covering 2016, the number of food-insecure people has risen from 108 million to 282 million, Wouterse said.
Meanwhile, the share of the population affected within the areas concerned has doubled 11 percent to 22 percent, she added.
Read more on RFI English
Read also:
Sudan on its knees after one year of brutal civil war
EU claims starvation used as 'weapon of war' as aid efforts to Gaza persist
Macron and Zelensky discuss security to enable Ukraine grain deal
