Welthungerhilfe’s annual report: 155 million are starving to death


Status: 06/30/2021 2:04 p.m.

With the pandemic, the number of starving people has risen sharply worldwide. According to Welthungerhilfe estimates, the situation is life-threatening for 155 million people. President Thieme calls for a reform of the food system.

The number of life-threatening starving people in the world rose again last year. In addition to climate change and wars, the corona pandemic in particular has led to a dramatic worsening of the situation, according to the annual report by Welthungerhilfe.

“In 2020 155 million people in 55 countries were suffering from life-threatening hunger,” said President Marlehn Thieme. That is 20 million people more than in 2019. The consequences of the corona pandemic are particularly devastating for the poorest. Especially in the global south, more and more people fell into absolute poverty and could not survive without help.

According to the report, hunger is most widespread in Asia, affecting 381 million people. On the African continent, the hunger situation with 250 million people is also alarming. The situation is particularly dramatic in East Africa, where one fifth of the population is undernourished (19.1 percent). In Latin America the number is 48 million people.

Women and children suffer the most

“Corona has mutated into a hunger virus and women and children in particular suffer most from the consequences,” said Thieme. The past year has also shown how much can be achieved despite all the difficulties. “The willingness to help and the solidarity of the German population were extraordinarily high in 2020,” said the Secretary General of Welthungerhilfe, Mathias Mogge.

Organization calls for reform

Thieme called for a reform of the global food system. “We need framework conditions with which ten billion people will soon be able to eat healthily without destroying nature and the climate”. The current system is neither fair nor sustainable.

“It does little to overcome hunger, it does not prevent people from being malnourished or over-nourished, and leads to lasting damage to our planet earth”, Thieme continues. Small corrections would no longer help, a real system change is necessary.

Reduce meat consumption

The United Nations summit on food systems in September must set the course for a fair, sustainable and crisis-proof global food system, she said. The federal government should play an active role in the redesign. Germany should link agricultural subsidies to environmental and climate requirements. In addition, meat consumption must be reduced, as it requires too much land for growing animal feed, which is then lacking for the production of other foods.

High donation volume in 2020

With almost 70 million euros, the organization raised more donations in the Corona year 2020 than seldom before in its almost 60-year history. Only in 2005 and 2010 was the sum even higher. With income of 285.4 million euros, the organization supported around 14.3 million people in 35 countries last year. The focus of the work was again in Africa and Asia.



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