The report titled, ‘UN report: Pandemic year marked by spike
in world hunger, Africa posting biggest jump, World at critical juncture, must
act now for 2030 turnaround,’ was signed by UNICEF, the WHO, FAO, the UN, and
the IFAD.
Others include the United Nations Children’s Fund and the UN
World Food Programme.
The report read in part, “More than half of all
undernourished people (418 million) live in Asia; more than a third (282
million) in Africa; and a smaller proportion (60 million) in Latin America and
the Caribbean.
“But the sharpest rise in hunger was in Africa, where the
estimated prevalence of undernourishment – at 21 per cent of the population –
is more than double that of any other region.
“There was a dramatic worsening of world hunger in 2020,
much of it likely related to the fallout of COVID-19.
“While the pandemic’s impact has yet to be fully mapped, a
multi-agency report estimates that around a tenth of the global population – up
to 811 million people – were undernourished last year. The number suggests it
will take a tremendous effort for the world to honour its pledge to end hunger
by 2030.
“This year’s edition of The State of Food Security and
Nutrition in the World is the first global assessment of its kind in the
pandemic era.
It further noted that previous editions had put the world on
notice that the food security of millions – many children among them – was at
stake.
The report said it was unfortunate, that the COVID-19
pandemic continues to expose weaknesses in our food systems, which threaten the
lives and livelihoods of people around the world.
“Already in the mid-2010s, hunger had started creeping
upwards, dashing hopes of irreversible decline. Disturbingly, in 2020 hunger
shot up in both absolute and proportional terms, outpacing population growth:
some 9.9 per cent of all people are estimated to have been undernourished last
year, up from 8.4 per cent in 2019.
It further stated that, “On other measurements too, the year
2020 was sombre. Overall, more than 2.3 billion people (or 30 per cent of the
global population) lacked year-round access to adequate food: this indicator –
known as the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity – leapt in one
year as much as the preceding five combined. Gender inequality deepened: for
every 10 food-insecure men, there were 11 food-insecure women in 2020 (up from
10.6 in 2019).
“Malnutrition persists in all its forms, with children
paying a high price: in 2020, over 149 million under-fives are estimated to
have been stunted, or too short for their age; more than 45 million – wasted,
or too thin for their height; and nearly 39 million – overweight.
“A full three-billion adults and children remained locked
out of healthy diets, largely due to excessive costs. Nearly a third of women
of reproductive age suffer from anaemia. Globally, despite progress in some
areas – more infants, for example, are being fed exclusively on breast milk –
the world is not on track to achieve targets for any nutrition indicators by
2030.