Food Insecurity Remains a Global Concern, Warns UN Secretary-General
As the world’s farmers produce more than enough food to feed its nearly 8 billion people, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has sounded the alarm on hunger and malnutrition, stating that it is a fact of life for billions. In a message ahead of World Food Day on October 16, Guterres highlighted that 733 million people globally are short of food due to conflict, marginalization, climate change, poverty, and economic downturns.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was established 79 years ago to provide people with greater access to food that is safe, nutritious, and culturally acceptable. However, Dominique Burgeon, director of the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, revealed that "we continue to witness severe imbalances across the world." He noted that one in 11 people in the world go to bed hungry every day, and over 2.8 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appealed for $165 million to provide essential ready-to-use-therapeutic food for nearly 2 million severely malnourished children at risk of death in 12 countries. The agency warned that levels of severe wasting in children under 5 years remain gravely high in several countries, fueled by conflict, economic shocks, and climate crises.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is among several humanitarian agencies expressing alarm at the escalating incidence of acute hunger and malnutrition across wide swathes of Africa. In Nigeria, ICRC head Yann Bonzon reported that the number of children treated for severe malnutrition in ICRC health facilities has increased by 24% over the past year.
Humanitarian organizations estimate that nearly 6.1 million people in the Lake Chad region will suffer from food shortages in the coming months, with farmers unable to plant their crops due to conflict and climate shocks. A similar scenario is playing out in southern Africa, where a widespread drought triggered by an El Niño weather pattern could turn into a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe without international assistance.
The World Food Program (WFP) has warned that for many communities, this is the worst food crisis yet, with crops failing, livestock perishing, and children lucky to receive one meal a day. The agency has called for international support, but expressed concern that urgent appeals are falling on deaf ears, with only one-fifth of the $369 million needed to provide life-saving assistance to millions in southern Africa received so far.
As the world grapples with this pressing issue, it is clear that food insecurity remains a global concern that requires immediate attention and action.
