Between conflicts, fragile economy and extreme weather, world hunger is not decreasing, affecting 733 million people in 2023

The situation is disparate: the number of people going hungry has increased in Africa, stabilized in Asia and decreased in Latin America and the Caribbean.

World hunger has not declined in 2023 with the persistence of conflicts, economic difficulties and extreme weather, affecting around 733 million people, or more than 9% of the world’s population, UN agencies warned on Wednesday, July 24.

The situation is disparate: the number of people going hungry has increased in Africa, stabilised in Asia and declined in Latin America and the Caribbean, says a joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Overall, chronic food insecurity has been spreading since 2016-2017, David Laborde, an economist at the FAO and one of the authors of this report entitled “The State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World”, told AFP.

The situation worsened significantly with Covid in 2020 and 2021, and the share of the population not having enough caloric intake to lead a normal life has since remained at the same level.

Around 2.3 billion people are also considered to be moderately or severely food insecure, meaning they occasionally have to skip a meal. And more than a third of the world’s population cannot afford a healthy diet, including 72% of people in the poorest countries.

The economy has certainly picked up again after the pandemic, but“remains unequal between countries and within countries”says David Laborde. Geopolitical tensions persist “with conflicts that do not disappear”while “climate change is beginning to hit us hard on every continent,” he adds.