There has been little sign of improvement in the diets of the world’s youngest children over the last ten years, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday.
Between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020 – some 161 million more than for 2019 – the UN Secretary-General said on Monday; “new, tragic data”, which indicates the world is “tremendously off track” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Although the World Food Programme (WFP) is ramping up support to people in Yemen’s worst hunger hotspots, in efforts to prevent famine, sustaining response through the rest of the year is uncertain, the UN agency warned on Monday.
The UN agriculture chief warned on Monday that severe underfunding of Africa’s agri-food sector has boosted food insecurity and was hampering the future development of countries across the continent.
Young people are taking a leading role in shaping fair and equitable food systems around the world, senior UN officials affirmed on Tuesday during a global youth dialogue on the theme of “Good Food for All”.
Negotiating with warlords in Somalia and rebels in the South Sudanese bush, and salvaging food from the chaos of the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, was once routine for a retired staff member of the World Food Programme (WFP) from Myanmar.
“Hunger is an outrage in a world of plenty”, the UN chief told the governing body of the Organization’s food agency on Monday, highlighting the important role of food security in cementing peace.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic could push nearly 50 million more people into extreme poverty, this and other dire impacts of the crisis can be avoided if countries act immediately to shore up global food security, the UN Secretary-General said on Tuesday.
Eating contaminated food has caused an estimated 600 million people in the world, or almost one-in-ten individuals, to fall ill – 420,000 of whom die every year, two UN specialized agencies highlighted on Sunday, World Food Safety Day.
