“Dismal” is how the Global Hunger Index 2022 classifies the world hunger situation, exacerbated by the latest crises and the crises currently underway: impact of the covid-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine and climate change.
As the 2022 Global Hunger Index (IGF) shows, the global hunger situation is grim. The overlapping crises facing the world reveal the failure of food systems, from global to local, and highlight the vulnerability of populations around the world. in relation to hunger,” the latest report, released today, reads.
In the document, the IGF denounces that “the percentage of people without regular access to adequate calories is increasing”, compared to “about 828 million undernourished people in 2021, marking a reversal of more than a decade of progress in the fight against hunger”, as a result of “a wave of crises”.
The study predicts that “the situation is likely to worsen in the face of the current wave of overlapping global crises – conflict, climate change and the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic – all of which are powerful drivers of hunger.”
“The war in Ukraine has continued to increase global food, fuel and fertilizer prices and has the potential to exacerbate hunger in 2023 and beyond,” say the experts responsible for compiling the index, as “this crises contribute to underlying factors such as poverty, inequality, inadequate governance, poor infrastructure and low agricultural productivity, which contribute to chronic hunger and vulnerability”.
“Globally and in many countries and regions, current food systems are inadequate to meet these challenges and end hunger,” they predict.
According to experts, “without significant change”, there is a potential for a worsening of the situation as early as 2023, and the world as a whole is not expected to reach low hunger levels by 2030, as envisaged by the targets defined in the so-called 2030 Agenda. (designed by the UN and composed of 17 major sustainable development goals).
The IGF has a hunger severity scale that includes “low, moderate, severe, alarming, and extremely alarming” levels.
According to the study, “increased hunger persists in too many regions”, the population level that is malnourished is increasing and no improvement is expected until 2030.
South Asia is the region with the highest values and Sub-Saharan Africa is the second region with the most severe hunger.with malnutrition and the infant mortality rate “higher than any other region in the world,” the report said, which also finds the values worrying in regions such as East Africa, West Asia and North Africa.
South Asia is also the region with the highest rate of childhood dwarfism. (rickets) and “by far the highest rate of child wastage than any other region in the world”.
Weight loss in children means the percentage of children under five who are low in weight for their height, which is a reflection of acute malnutrition, the IGF explains in the report, pointing out that it is one of four indicators on which it is used as a tool based “to measure and fully track hunger over the past years and decades at the global, regional and national levels”.
The other three indicators he uses in his formula to capture “the multidimensional nature of hunger” are malnutrition, stunted growth of children (which is a reflection of chronic malnutrition) and the infant mortality rate of children under the age of five.
Experts point out that five countries in the world are at alarming levels – four of them Africa and Yemen, a country in civil war since 2014, which, according to the UN, caused “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world” and that, in October From 2020 the annual edition of the IGF is already listed among the countries with alarming hunger.
Further, the IGF places four countries at alarming levels for the time being – three more African countries and Syria, also the scene of civil war since 2011 – and 35 countries in severe hunger levels (most of which are also African, in addition to Timor-Leste, Haiti, India and Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, North Korea and Afghanistan, where the Taliban regained power just over a year ago and are facing a severe economic crisis).
Potential solutions identified in the report include the transformation of food systems, as well as the importance of the role local governments play in these regions.
“In a global food system that has failed to meet the sustainable end of hunger, it is important to look at the governance of food systems at the local level, where citizens find innovative ways to hold decision-makers accountable for solving the food problem and nutritional insecurity,” says one of the experts, Danielle Resnick, in an essay included in this year’s IGF report.
“While transforming food systems ultimately requires multi-level interventions, a greater focus on local governance of food systems is warranted” as “natural resource management practices, farming and livestock practices, and food preferences are often based on local cultural traditions.” , historical experiences, and agroecological conditions,” Resnick said.
The 2022 Global Hunger Index report evaluated data from 136 countries. Of these, there was enough data to calculate the 2022 IGF score and rank 121 countries (by comparison, 116 countries were ranked in the 2021 report), the document also says.
Source: DN
