The fight against hunger is stagnating. This is the result of the current global hunger index. Accordingly, around 735 million people were undernourished in 2022. The war against Ukraine and climate change exacerbated the situation.
According to two aid organizations, a world without hunger is becoming a long way off: 43 countries continue to record very serious and serious levels of hunger, and in 18 countries hunger has increased again since 2015, write Welthungerhilfe and its partner organization Concern Worldwide in their Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023.
According to Welthungerhilfe, 735 million people were undernourished last year. According to this, 58 countries will not be able to achieve low levels of hunger by 2030. Low- and middle-income states, which are more vulnerable to crises, were hit particularly hard compared to high-income ones. The report examines the nutritional situation in 136 countries.
Greatest hunger in Africa and South Asia
According to the data, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are once again the regions with the highest hunger rates. Very serious levels of hunger exist in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen and the Central African Republic.
The two organizations estimate that the world’s efforts to reduce hunger have made little progress since 2015. Crises such as the rise in food prices, which was further fueled by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the economic effects of the corona pandemic, climate change and increasing armed conflicts, reinforced each other and led to around three quarters of a billion people going hungry.
World Hunger Index
The index ranks countries according to one 100 point scale a. 0 (no hunger) is the best value, 100 the worst value. Values between 10.0 and 19.9 points mean moderate hunger. Index values of more than 50 signal serious malnutrition. Overall, the calculation is based on four indicators:
Malnutrition: the proportion of the population whose calorie needs are not met
Growth delay in children: the proportion of children under five years of age who are too small for their age
Wasting in children: the proportion of children under five years of age who are too low in weight for their height
Child mortality: the proportion of children who die before their fifth birthday
cuts in Development work wrong signal
“If hunger continues, children will have to work instead of going to school and girls will be married off too early. People in low-income countries and disadvantaged groups are affected because they hardly have any capacity left to deal with the various crises,” criticizes Marlehn Thieme, President of Welthungerhilfe. Germany’s planned savings of 1.6 billion euros in development and humanitarian aid send the wrong signal.
This year, the World Hunger Index is particularly dedicated to the situation of the young population in many poorer countries. What is required is intergenerational equity in order to reduce hunger. This includes investments in education, health and nutrition.
Global hunger is expected to end by 2030
“Without real prospects for a secure existence, young people will continue to leave their home areas. Their strength and innovative skills have the potential to eliminate hunger in the long term,” emphasized Mathias Mogge, Secretary General of Welthungerhilfe.
The United Nations wants to end hunger in the world by 2030. But that is still a “tremendous challenge”. Forecasts assume that almost 600 million people will still have too little to eat.