United Nations, Jul. 16: An estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the previous year, which is the third year of increase in a row. This underscores the immense challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030, says a new edition of the annual ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ report released yesterday.
On this report, UN said, “We must foster pro-poor and inclusive structural transformation, focusing on people and placing communities at the center to reduce economic vulnerabilities and set ourselves on track to ending hunger, food-security and all forms of malnutrition”.
UN said that it might be an ‘immense challenge’ to reach the target of zero hunger might be ‘because more than 820 million people worldwide are still hungry.
An estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the previous year, which is the third year of increase in a row. This underscores the immense challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030, says a new edition of the annual The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report released.
Here are some facts put forth by the ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ report -
- 820 million people in the world are hungry, malnutrition and suffer from food insecurity.
- Asia has 513.9 million hungry people in 2018.
- Asia and Africa account for the highest share of malnutrition in the world. 9 out of 10 stunted children and 9 out of all wasted children globally live either Asia and Africa.
- Number of hungry people in the world in 2018: 821.6 million (or 1 in 9 people in Asia: 513.9 million; in Africa: 256.1million
- in Latin America and the Caribbean: 42.5 million
- Number of moderately or severely food insecure: 2 billion (26.4%)
- Babies born with low birth weight: 20.5 million (one in seven)
- Children under 5 affected by stunting (low height-for-age): 148.9 million (21.9%)
- Children under 5 affected by wasting (low weight-for-height): 49.5 million (7.3%)
- Children under 5 who are overweight (high weight-for-height): 40 million (5.9%)
- School-age children and adolescents who are overweight: 338 million
- Adults who are obese: 672 million (13% or 1 in 8 adults)