More than 113 million people suffer acute hunger: UN

CONTEXT:

  • More than 113 million people across 53 countries experienced acute hunger last year because of wars and climate disasters.
  • United Nations body, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its 2019 global report, today said Africa was the worst-hit region.
  • It said Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and Syria were among the eight nations accounting for two-thirds of the total number of people worldwide exposed to the risk of famine.
  • Launched three years ago, the annual study takes stock of the countries facing the greatest difficulties.
  • FAO’s emergencies director Dominique Bourgeon said African states were disproportionally affected as close to 72 million people on the continent suffered acute hunger.
  • Conflict and insecurity remained key factors, along with economic turbulence and climate-related shocks like drought and floods, the report found.
  • Bourgeon said up to 80 per cent of the population depend on agriculture in the affected regions.
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