UN warns of stalled progress to end global hunger

The United Nations has issued a stark warning that the goal of eradicating global hunger by 2030 is increasingly out of reach. According to the latest annual report, "State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World," the number of people experiencing chronic hunger has remained largely unchanged over the past year, with approximately 733 million individuals suffering from hunger—about one in eleven people globally and one in five in Africa.

Nigeria is currently experiencing one of its worst period of hinger occasioned by high rate of inflation.

David Laborde, director of the division within the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) responsible for the survey, highlighted that while there has been some progress in specific regions, the global situation has worsened. "We are in a worse situation today than we were nine years ago when we set this goal to eliminate hunger by 2030," Laborde told Reuters. He attributed this decline to intensifying challenges such as climate change and regional conflicts that have become more severe than anticipated.

The report predicts that if current trends persist, around 582 million people will face chronic undernourishment by the end of the decade, with half of them in Africa. Additionally, a broader goal to ensure regular access to sufficient food has also stalled, with 29% of the global population—about 2.33 billion people—experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023.

Significant disparities exist between low- and high-income countries: last year, 71.5% of people in low-income countries were unable to afford a healthy diet, compared to just 6.3% in high-income countries. Poor nutrition, though less visible than famine, has long-lasting effects, including stunted physical and mental development in children and increased vulnerability to illness in adults.

Laborde pointed out that international aid for food security and nutrition amounts to $76 billion annually, which is only 0.07% of the world's total economic output. He called for improved efforts to fulfill the promise of a hunger-free planet. "I think we can do better to deliver this promise," he said.

Regional disparities are evident: hunger continues to rise in Africa due to factors such as rapid population growth, ongoing conflicts, and climate change, while Asia has seen minimal change and Latin America has shown improvement. FAO's chief economist, Maximo Torero, noted that South America's advanced social protection programs have been effective in combating hunger, a contrast to the situation in Africa.

The UN stressed the need for a shift in how the anti-hunger drive is financed, advocating for greater flexibility and better coordination to ensure aid reaches the most needy. "We need to change how we do things to be better coordinated and focus on what we are doing and where," Laborde emphasized. The report is a collaborative effort by the FAO, the U.N.'s International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the World Food Programme.