Stefanus Nashama
According to estimates, 733 million people, or one in eleven people worldwide and one in five in Africa, experienced hunger in 2023.
This is according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report that was released this week.
“Despite some progress in specific areas such as stunting and exclusive breastfeeding, an alarming number of people continue to face food insecurity and malnutrition as global hunger levels have plateaued for three consecutive years, with between 713 and 757 million people undernourished in 2023 – approximately 152 million more than in 2019 when considering the mid-range (733 million),” the report states.
The report further highlights that access to adequate food remains elusive for billions.
In 2023, around 2.33 billion people globally faced moderate or severe food insecurity.
This number has not changed significantly since the sharp upturn in 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among those, over 864 million people experienced severe food insecurity, going without food for an entire day or more at times.
“This number has remained stubbornly high since 2020 and while Latin America shows improvement, broader challenges persist, especially in Africa, where 58 percent of the population is moderately or severely food insecure,” the report stated.
According to the report, lack of economic access to healthy diets also remains a critical issue, affecting over one-third of the global population.
Over 2.8 billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2022.
The disparity is most pronounced in low-income countries, where 71.5 percent of the population cannot afford a healthy diet, compared to 6.3 percent in high-income countries, says the report.
The number notably dropped below pre-pandemic levels observed in Asia, Northern America, and Europe, while it increased substantially in Africa.
According to the report, “achieving global nutrition targets will be a challenge, despite progress in increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates among infants to 48 percent.”
“Low birthweight prevalence has stagnated at around 15 percent, and stunting among children under five, while declining to 22.3 percent, still falls short of achieving targets. Additionally, the prevalence of wasting among children has not seen significant improvement, while anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years has increased.
“Similarly, new estimates of adult obesity show a steady increase over the last decade, from 12.1 percent (2012) to 15.8 percent (2022).
By 2030, the report projects that the world will have more than 1.2 billion obese adults.
“The double burden of malnutrition the co-existence of undernutrition together with overweight and obesity – has also surged globally across all age groups. Thinness and underweight have declined in the last two decades, while obesity has risen sharply,” it stated.
These trends, according to the report, underscore the complex challenges of malnutrition in all its forms.
The continuous, persisting food price inflation erodes economic gains for many people in many countries, resulting in escalating hunger.
Additionally, the report found that conflict, climate change, and economic downturns are becoming more frequent and severe, contributing to the cause of poverty.
