NEW YORK, (PIC)
A report by the United Nations warned against the worsening global hunger crisis, affecting millions of people around the world who are suffering from severe food insecurity, stressing that the food crisis in Gaza is the most intense in history.
The semi-annual UN report on the 2024 food crises, which covers the period until the end of August 2024, details how conflicts and climate change have sharply increased the number of people suffering from acute hunger, with regions such as Sudan and Gaza being among the hardest hit.
The report revealed that the number of people facing a catastrophic level of food insecurity doubled from 705,000 people in five countries and regions in 2023 to 1.9 million in four countries or regions in 2024.
This is the highest number recorded by the global report on food crises, and this is mostly due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip and Sudan, according to Maximo Torero, Chief Economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Torreo stated that the food crisis in Gaza remains the most severe in the history of the Global Food Crises Report, with nearly 2.2 million residents still in dire need of food and assistance.
The crisis has intensified, with half of the population experiencing famine conditions between March and April 2024, up from a quarter of the population between December 2023 and February 2024.
Forecasts suggest that this proportion will decrease to 22% of the population, approximately 495,000 people, between June and September 2024. While evidence does not indicate ongoing famine, the risk remains, according to the report.
The three UN officials, presenting the semi-annual update on the Global Food Crises Report for 2024, covering the period up to the end of August 2024, emphasized the urgent need for increased humanitarian funding and efforts to address the root causes of food crises, such as conflicts and climate change, to prevent worsening conditions and avoid broader famines.
