It is a crisis much greater than what we see in (Palestine) for the siege of Israel: 8.2 % of the world’s population experienced hunger in 2024, a slight decrease compared to 8.5 % of 2023 and 8.7 % of 2022, according to a study published on Monday by five United Nations agencies. However, he continued to rise in most regions of Africa and in Western Asia.
According to the annual report on, an estimate of 673 million people suffered hunger last year, which is 15 million less than the previous one and 22 less than in 2022.
This improvement is explained by the progress observed in South America, southern Asia and Southeast Asia but contrasts with hunger in most regions of Africa and Western Asia, where the percentage of people suffering from hunger exceeded 20 % and reached 12.7 %, respectively.
Thus, the report projects that up to 512 million people around the world could suffer chronic malnutrition by 2030, of which almost 60 % would be in Africa.
The document was presented on Monday at Adís Abeba, on the first day of the second balance of the UN Summit on Food Systems (UNFSS+4), and was prepared by five agencies: the UN Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO), the International Agricultural Development Fund (FIDA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Program (PMA) (UNICEF).
Africa and Western Asia, the most beaten regions
“The situation in Africa and Western Asia is the result of structural factors and important disturbances, which have been identified as key determinants of malnutrition,” FAO’s chief economist, maximum bullfighter, told EFE to Efe.
“In the first place, these regions are affected by conflicts, such as those that happen in and in Gaza, and, secondly, they have been affected by extreme meteorological phenomena, such as serious heat waves in Sudan and Somalia, erratic and torrential rains in East Africa and droughts in southern Africa,” he added.
As a third reason, bullfighter cited the “deceleration and economic recession” driven by the “stagnation” of growth and production due to problems such as lack of investments.
At a global level, after food insecurity – the difficulty in getting food – worldwide after the coronavirus pandemic, has observed a “gradual” decrease since 2021, until some 2.3 billion people who suffered moderate or severe food insecurity suffered in 2024.
These figures, however, are still well above the levels registered before COVID-19: specifically, 335 million people more than in 2019 and 683 million more than in 2015. Again, Africa takes the worst part, with 58.9 % of its population suffering moderate or serious food insecurity, above the planetary average of 28 %.
Regarding the nutritional status of children, only growth delay has experienced a significant improvement, according to the report: from 26.4 % in 2012 to 23.2 % in 2024.
Although no region has experienced worsening in the prevalence of child emaciation since 2012, “all children’s nutrition indicators need accelerated progress to achieve the objectives” marked by 2030.
Inflation in food price
The study also documents how the policies promoted to respond to the crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 -Centradas in wide tax and monetary interventions- accelerated the increase in food prices, somewhat aggravated by the Ukraine War and by extreme climatic phenomena.
Thus, since 2020, the inflation of the price of food has systematically exceeded general inflation, a difference that reached its maximum in January 2023, when the first one stood at 13.6 %, well above global general inflation of 8.5 %.
This rise in food prices even more hit low -income countries, where inflation reached a maximum of 30 % in May 2023.
“The increase in food prices disproportionately food security in inequality contexts, where structural disparities in income, gender and geography amplify both exposure to the crisis and obstacles to an effective response,” said the report.
