Food insecurity worsened globally in 2023, with nearly 282 million people in need of urgent assistance due to conflict, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, but also as a result of extreme weather events and economic shocks, warned 16 United Nations (UN) agencies and humanitarian organizations yesterday.
This is 24 million more people than in 2022, and the forecasts remain “dire” for the current year, according to the global report of the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). This is also the fifth consecutive year in which the number of people in acute food insecurity has risen, marking a situation where one’s life or means of livelihood are immediately threatened because they cannot access adequate food.
The worsening situation compared to the previous year is partly due to the expanded areas covered by the report. This is a result of “new or intensified shocks” as well as “significant deterioration in the context of key food crises such as Sudan and the Gaza Strip,” said Fleur Wouterse, deputy director of the emergency office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In 2023, 700.000 people were on the brink of starvation, of which 600.000 were in Gaza. Since then, this figure has further increased to 1.1 million people in the Palestinian territory affected by hunger and conflict.
Since the Center began publishing this report in 2016, the number of people affected by food insecurity has increased from 108 million to 282 million, while the percentage of affected populations in these areas has risen from 11 to 22 percent, Wouterse added.
And since then, the food crisis has persisted in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Syria, and Yemen, she said. “In a world of plenty, children are dying of hunger. Wars, climate chaos, and the cost of living crisis combined with inadequate action have led to nearly 300 million people facing acute food crises in 2023,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the report’s introduction.
Fleur Wouterse said that the development of the situation in 2024 will depend on the cessation of hostilities. “As soon as access to humanitarian aid in Gaza and Sudan becomes possible, assistance could quickly alleviate the food crisis,” she said.
There is significant uncertainty for Haiti, where armed groups have occupied agricultural land and looted crops. Additionally, the meteorological phenomenon of El Nino could lead to severe drought in western and southern Africa, Wouterse added.
According to the report, conflict or insecurity became the main cause of acute food insecurity in 20 countries or territories where 135 million people suffered in 2023. Economic shocks are the second cause, affecting 75 million people in 21 countries, and extreme weather events such as floods or droughts affected 72 million people in 18 countries.
As a positive sign, the situation improved in 17 countries in 2023, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ukraine. “If we intervene and support agriculture, it is possible to get people out of food insecurity,” said Wouterse.
E.Dz.
