FAO: Acute Food Insecurity Increased Worldwide in 2021

Rabat – Acute food insecurity hit nearly 193 million people in more than 50 countries last year, an increase of 40 million compared to 2020, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Due to conflicts, climate change, and the confluence of economic crises the world has experienced in the past year, many have faced severe malnutrition, the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) warned in its annual report.

The report noted that more than half a million people in Ethiopia, southern Madagascar, South Sudan, and Yemen were classified in the most severe phase of acute food insecurity Catastrophe.

Meanwhile, the number of people facing food-related crises doubled between 2016 and 2021, and the figures have consistently gone up annually since 2018.

Extreme weather, conflicts, and economic shocks are the key drivers behind the rise in food insecurity in 2021, the report noted.

Conflicts alone affected 139 million people in 2021, particularly in countries with high political tensions and humanitarian crises such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

GNAFC’s 2021 report does not include the impact of the Ukrainian crisis, which has already affected the global food supply, causing shortages in food production, higher food bills, fuel, and fertilizer prices.

But the report stated that countries with a significant dependence on food and agricultural imports from Eastern Europe are more vulnerable to Russia-Ukraine war impact.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine jeopardizes global food security. The international community must act to avert the largest food crisis in history and the social, economic, and political upheaval that could follow,” said Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships.

Urpilainen called for collective assistance to prevent worldwide famine while providing help to countries in transition to sustainable agri-food systems and resilient supply chains “by tapping the full potential of the Green Deal and the Global Gateway.”

As for its projections for 2022, FAO estimates that up to 181 million people could suffer from acute food insecurity by the end of the year.

The UN institution urges governments and policymakers to implement integrated approaches to sustainably address food crises, including structural rural poverty, marginalization, population growth, and fragile food systems.

FAO also called for strengthening humanitarian and peacekeeping activities to respond to food crises and support the Sustainable Development Goal to End Hunger (SDG 2).