Current estimates are that nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population – up by 10 million people in one year and by nearly 60 million in five years. The world hunger emergency is worsening by the day with dire consequences. The majority of the world’s undernour-ished – 381 million – are still found in Asia. More than 250 million live in Africa, where the number of undernourished is growing faster than anywhere in the world.
In 2019, close to 750 million – or nearly one in ten people in the world – were exposed to severe levels of food insecurity. An estimated 2 billion people in the world did not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food in 2019. If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger will surpass 840 million by 2030, or 9.8 percent of the global population.
In 2019, 6.9 per cent (or 47 million) children under 5 were affected by wasting, or acute undernutrition, a condition caused by limited nutrient intake and infection.
