- The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that we entered 2022 with 828 million hungry people
- This number represents an increase of approximately 150 million hungry people since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic
- In July of 2022, the World Food Programme warned that, of the approximately 828 million people facing hunger, 345 million were experiencing acute hunger (more on that below)
- The number of acutely hungry people in the world increased by 25% in just three months. This increase in global hunger is attributed to the conflict in Ukraine. At the end of 2021, approximately 193 million people experienced acute hunger.
- That 828 million isn’t the largest figure for world hunger: The FAO estimates that there are 2.3 billion people facing less extreme, but still dangerous, levels of food insecurity. That’s roughly 29% of the global population.
- In 2020, 3.1 billion people around the world could not afford a healthy diet — an increase of over 119 million compared to 2019
- Hunger is sexist: Over 31% of women in the world face hunger, compared to just 27% of men. This gender gap has intensified since the pandemic.
- Hunger also hits children especially hard: The FAO estimates 45 million children under the age of five suffer wasting. Wasting increases the risk of child mortality by up to 12 times.
- The FAO also estimates that 149 million children under the age of five are affected by stunting due to a lack of essential nutrients and adequate food.
- Even if we rebound from the economic fallout of the pandemic, the UN predicts that we’ll fall well short of our goal for Zero Hunger by 2030. At the end of this decade, it estimates there will still be 670 million people facing hunger.
- 9 million people die from hunger every year
Source: Concern USA