Edited News , Press Conferences | FAO , UNICEF , WFP , WHO
122 million more people pushed into hunger since 2019 amid multiple crises, reveals UN report
Approximately 735 million people face hunger today, compared to 613 million in 2019, the UN said on Wednesday.
The pandemic, repeated weather shocks and conflicts including the war in Ukraine are to blame, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report published jointly by five United Nations specialized agencies.
“Between 691 and 783 million people in the world faced hunger in 2022. If we consider the mid-range, which is about 735 million people, it is still 122 million people more who faced hunger in 2022 compared to 2019, before the pandemic,” said Marco Sanchez Cantillo, Deputy Director of Agrifood Economics Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at a press conference in Geneva.
According to FAO’s projections, almost 600 million people will still be facing hunger in 2030.
Asia and Latin America made progress in hunger reduction last year, but it was still on the rise in Western Asia, the Caribbean and throughout all subregions of Africa in 2022.
Africa remains the worst-affected region with one in five people facing hunger, more than twice the global average.
These trends jeopardize the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal target of Zero Hunger by 2030. Concerns are high too at the UN World Food Programme (WFP) which reports that 345 million people face acute food insecurity in the countries where it operates. “It’s a 200 million increase compared to 2020, it’s staggering,” emphasized Gian Carlo Cirri, Head of the Geneva Office. As a result, WFP has been scaling up its operations and reached an unprecedented 160 million people in 2022.
But “at the rate of incoming resources to address the food crisis, we expect there will be a 60 per cent gap in our operations, and this is of course, quite worrisome,” added Mr. Cirri.
While food insecurity affects both urban and rural households, it is strongest in rural areas, where 80 per cent of the world’s poorest people live. Many of them are small-scale farmers. They produce one-third of the world’s food and 70 per cent of the food in Africa and Asia, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). “Meanwhile, they struggle to feed themselves and they bear the brunt of tremendous challenges, the least being climate change,” explained Ms. Hélène Papper, IFAD’s Director for Global Communications and Advocacy. “But they only receive 1.7 per cent of global climate finance. This is wrong and we must shift this terrible dichotomy,” she added, insisting that investment in agriculture is two to three times more effective at reducing poverty than investment in any other sector.
On a more positive note, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, reported progress in exclusive breastfeeding: “48 percent of babies under six months of age benefit from this ultimate child survival practice, close to the 2025 target,” said UNICEF’s Chika Hayashi, Statistics and Monitoring Senior Advisor, Nutrition. However, more efforts will be required to meet the 2030 malnutrition targets and allow more people to access healthy diets.
With almost seven in 10 people projected to be living in cities by 2050, the report calls on governments to push for policies and legislation that support better rural-urban infrastructure and connectivity and that link small-scale producers and small agri-businesses to fair and lucrative markets.
Ends
EDIT:
DURATION (TRT): 02’37”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 12 July 2023
FAO, WHO, UNICEF, WFP, IFAD Press Conference
LOCATION: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNFPA , WFP , WHO , OCHA , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Populations Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
1
1
Statements , Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN trade and development (UNCTAD) briefs the media following the opening of the 16th Conference of the United Nations on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD , WMO , WFP , UN WOMEN , WHO , OCHA
Rolando Gómez, Chief of Section, Public Information, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, UN Women, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
2
1
Press Conferences | WMO
WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , UNICEF , UNDP , ICRC , WHO , OCHA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
2
5
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
UNCTAD / 16TH CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
As the global economy undergoes tectonic shifts in trade, finance and technology, global economic and development leaders will gather in Geneva this month to chart a path through mounting uncertainty and fragmentation. Ahead of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan outlines how countries can navigate record debt, disrupted supply chains, volatile investment flows and accelerating digital transformation. UNCTAD / UNTV CH
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Health Organization.