Amid escalating conflicts and violence around the globe, UN-affilliated agencies and other development groups confirmed in their reports that food insecurity exacerbated around the world in 2023, with about 282 million people suffering from acute hunger, particularly in Gaza and Sudan.
In its report on global food crises released on Wednesday, the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) said that extreme weather events and economic shocks added to the number of those facing acute food insecurity, which grew by 24 million people compared with 2022.
The report, which described the global scene as “bleak” for this year, is produced for an international alliance bringing together UN agencies, the European Union and governmental and non-governmental bodies.
More geographical areas experienced “new or intensified shocks” while there was a “marked deterioration in key food crisis contexts such as Sudan and the Gaza Strip”, Fleur Wouterse, deputy director of the emergencies office within the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), told the AFP news agency.
According to the report, situations of conflict or insecurity have become the main cause of acute hunger in 20 countries or territories, where 135 million people have suffered.
Extreme climatic events such as floods or droughts were the main cause of acute food insecurity for 72 million people in 18 countries, while economic shocks pushed 75 million people into this situation in 21 countries.
