Global report shows highest number of people facing acute food insecurity since 2017
The latest edition of the Global Report on Food Crises shows that in 2022, about 258 million people across 58 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity requiring urgent assistance, the European Commission (EC) said on May 4.
The statement said that 22.7 per cent of the analysed population was affected, which are the highest figures since the report was first published in 2017.
“The number of people battling acute hunger and suffering from malnutrition is alarming and at its highest in the last seven years,” the EC said.
The global economic shocks set in motion by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine, together with weather extremes and armed conflicts in some other countries, are driving millions of people into acute food insecurity and malnutrition, it said.
The Report is produced by the Global Network against Food Crises, a network launched by the European Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme in 2016.
The EU is a founding member and the main funder of this Global Network, and participates in the Senior Steering Group that provides strategic guidance. The EC’s Joint Research Centre is also part of the technical team that analyses the data of the report each year as well as of the Senior Committee.
“The EU invests in finding a sustainable medium and long-term solution to food security challenges, while also delivering emergency assistance to people facing humanitarian crises,” the EC said.
“We promote sustainable and resilient food systems and support our partner countries’ strategic autonomy.”
Together with the EU countries, the EU had mobilised almost 18 billion euro to help partner countries address the global food crisis until 2024. Almost seven billion euro was already paid out in 2022 alone, the EC said.
The statement said that the EU had launched targeted initiatives to boost local food production and decrease dependence on unsustainable imports.
“Furthermore, we actively support the African Free Continental Trade Area to enhance intra-regional agri-food trade,” the EC said.
(Photo: Mohamed Ouda, via Wikimedia Commons)
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