The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News , Press Conferences | FAO , UNICEF , WFP , WHO
FAO, WFP, WHO, UNICEF, IFAD Press Conference: State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report - 12 July 2023
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
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Wide shot, Press room, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Marco Sanchez Cantillo, Deputy Director of Agrifood Economics Division (ESA) – FAO: “It is estimated that 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.”
- Medium shot of speakers at the podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Gian Carlo Cirri, Head of Geneva Office - WFP: “At the rate of incoming resources to address the food crisis, we expect that there will be a 60 percent gap in our operations, and this is of course, quite worrisome.”
- Wide shot of Press room and speakers at the podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Gian Carlo Cirri, Head of Geneva Office - WFP: “345 million people are facing acute food insecurity. This is a major increase when compared to 2020: it’s a 200 million increase, it's a staggering. So, we have been scaling up, in WFP, our operations and we've reached a number of persons we never reached before with 160 million people reached in 2022.”
- Cutaway: close shot of laptop screen with speakers in the background
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Hélène Papper, Director for Global Communications and Advocacy – IFAD: “They produce one third of the world's food. 70 percent of the food in Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, they struggle to feed themselves and they bear the brunt of tremendous challenges as we all face today, the least being climate change. But they only receive 1.7 percent of global climate finance. This is wrong and we must shift this terrible dichotomy.”
- Cutaway: close shot of journalist
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Hélène Papper, Director for Global Communications and Advocacy – IFAD: “Data clearly shows that investment in agriculture is two to three times more effective at reducing poverty than investment in any other sector.”
- Cutaway: medium shot of journalists listening
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Chika Hayashi, Statistics and Monitoring Senior Advisor, Nutrition – UNICEF: “Breastfeeding, which is the ultimate child survival intervention, has also increased by ten percentage points in the last 12 years to 48 percent and therefore seems to be actually the only nutrition indicator that's on track to achieve the World Health Assembly’s global nutrition target of 50 percent by 2025.”
- Various shots of Press conference room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNODA
Twenty-Second Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNICEF
Asia: Lives upended in cyclone disasters, ‘extreme’ rainfall on the rise - UN agencies
Across southeast Asia, record-breaking rains and flooding caused by back-to-back tropical storms have claimed hundreds of lives and brought devastation and displacement upon entire communities, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ITU , UNDP , UNHCR , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the International Telecommunication Union.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNIDIR
Landmine Monitor 2025 report launch
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised grave concerns about the recent constitutional amendments adopted in Pakistan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson made the following comment on the most recent killings in the occupied West Bank yesterday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised concerns about the military-controlled election in Myanmar, which starts next month and will be conducted in an atmosphere rife with threats and violence putting the lives of civilians at risk.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR , ICRC , UNCTAD
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Refugee Agency.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
World AIDS Day 2025: Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Gaza women are ‘last line of protection’ for their families amid attacks, hunger and harsh winter – UN Women
Women in Gaza are ensuring their families’ survival “with nothing but courage and exhausted hands” while violence continues and essentials remain in short supply, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Since the ceasefire began on 27 November 2024, Israeli military strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 127 civilians. Nearly a year later, these attacks continue to increase, causing civilian deaths and damage to civilian structures.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNESCO , UN WOMEN , OHCHR , WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Food Programme.