Hunger Crisis Shifts Focus from Asia to Africa

July 20 (RAS/AFP), Paris – According to a recent United Nations report, increasing malnutrition has caused Africa to overtake Asia in terms of the number of people affected by hunger.

The UN’s annual report on food security and nutrition indicates that while global hunger is generally decreasing, the situation remains uneven across different regions.

David Laborde, Director of the Agricultural and Food Economics Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), stated that the epicenter of hunger has shifted from Asia to Africa. He noted that China has achieved remarkable progress in controlling hunger over the past 25 years, and India is also making vigorous efforts to tackle the issue.

The report, jointly prepared by the FAO and five other UN agencies, projects that by 2025, approximately 309 million people in Africa, representing 20 percent of its population, will be affected by hunger.

In the same period, about 292 million people in Asia, roughly 6 percent of its population, will face hunger.

Globally, the proportion of people facing hunger is expected to decrease from 8.6 percent in 2022 to 7.8 percent in 2025.

The number of affected individuals is projected to decline by approximately 43 million to 645 million. However, the report notes that this figure remains higher than pre-COVID-19 levels.

Since 2017, malnutrition rates in Africa have been steadily rising, although recent data show some improvements projected for 2025. Yet since 2021, the number of Africans unable to afford healthy diets has increased, while in other regions this ratio has decreased.

The report states that approximately two-thirds (66.6 percent) of Africa’s population cannot afford nutritious diets, more than twice the proportion in Asia.

It recommends that African countries prioritize improving animal-based food production and supply systems, noting that animal-sourced products in the region are more expensive compared to other food groups.

The United Nations highlights that climate change and conflict exacerbate the food crisis in Africa. Conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have deprived millions of cultivable land and sources of income, according to Laborde.

The UN has previously warned that nearly 20 million people in Sudan are at risk of extreme food insecurity. There are also concerns that ongoing conflicts in the Middle East could escalate, putting millions more at risk of hunger.

Laborde noted that while price increases in energy and fertilizers due to war have so far had limited direct impact, risks to food security remain persistent.