There are more hungry people in the world than ever before. More than one billion people, almost a sixth of humanity, are now undernourished, according to the latest estimates from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

ROME – The number of hungry people on the planet will this year reach a historic high of 1.02 billion, FAO announced recently, putting the blame for the latest increases on the global economic slowdown and stubbornly high food prices in many countries. Read news release

The world has reached a sad milestone, reversing a four-decade positive trend of nations pulling themselves out of hunger, WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said, commenting on the new figure.

“Unless the world responds, we are in danger of losing a generation to hunger and malnutrition,” she continued. “We have the know-how, the tools and the technology to feed the world. Let history not say of our generation that we let the opportunity of ending hunger slip through our fingers.”

100 million more

About 100 million more people than last year have been pushed into chronic hunger and poverty, FAO said, noting that the economic crisis has pushed incomes down and increased unemployment.

Research by WFP shows that poor households all over the developing world are eating fewer and less nutritious meals and many are cutting back on healthcare and schooling for children. Read more

Whereas good progress was made in reducing chronic hunger in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, hunger has been slowly but steadily on the rise for the past decade. View hunger stats

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This article is for information purposes only. The Greenhouse Neutral Foundation does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any information provided.

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