UN: 258M people were faced with food insecurity in 2022

ROME — More than a quarter-billion people in 58 countries faced acute food insecurity last year because of conflicts, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a report published Wednesday.

The Global Report on Food Crises said people faced starvation and death in seven of those countries: Somalia, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.

The report found the number of people facing acute food insecurity and requiring urgent food aid — 258 million — had increased for the fourth consecutive year, a “stinging indictment of humanity’s failure” to implement U.N. goals to end world hunger, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said.

While the increase last year was due in part to more populations being analyzed, the report also found the severity of the problem increased as well, “highlighting a concerning trend of a deterioration.”

Rein Paulsen, director of emergencies and resilience for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, said an interplay of causes was driving hunger. They include conflicts, climate shocks, the impact of the pandemic and consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine that has had an impact on the global trade in fertilizers, wheat, maize and sunflower oil.

The impact has been most acute on the poorest countries that are dependent on food imports. “Prices have increased (and) those countries have been adversely affected,” Paulsen said.

The U.N. World Food Program’s new chief issued a warning that the Rome-based agency’s resources to provide food aid amid the surging needs are “running dangerously low.” Executive Director Cindy McCain told panelists at an event to present the report that the agency could be forced to make “heartbreaking decisions to slash” assistance if substantial new funding doesn’t materialize quickly.