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2023
The UN counted 282 million starving people in the world
In 2023, approximately 281.6 million people in 59 countries around the world faced acute hunger. This is 24 million more compared to the previous year. The food security situation is deteriorating due to armed conflicts, natural disasters and the prevailing macroeconomic situation. This is stated in a UN report released on April 24, 2024.
The report says that the problem of food shortages has significantly worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the coronavirus crisis broke out at the end of 2019, about one in six people in 55 countries faced malnutrition, and a year later, one in five.
In
 | When it comes to acute food shortages, we are talking about hunger so severe that it poses an immediate threat to people's health and lives. This is a famine that threatens to become widespread and lead to large-scale mortality, "emphasizes Dominic Bourgeon, director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Geneva. |  |
It is estimated that in 2023, due to conflicts with hunger on a global scale, approximately 135 million people faced, due to floods or drought - 72 million inhabitants of the planet, and due to economic challenges - about 75 million people.
In 2023, approximately 36 million people in 39 countries of the world faced an emergency level of acute food shortages (phase four), which is 4% more compared to 2022. Of these, more than a third are residents of Sudan and Afghanistan. At the same time, about 165.5 million residents in 41 countries experienced crisis food insecurity (third phase). And about 292 million people in 40 countries faced difficulties in providing themselves with food (second phase).
The report highlights the dangerous situation in Sudan: after the escalation of the conflict in 2023, 20.3 million people, or 42% of the population of this country, experienced food difficulties. This is the world's largest number of people facing "extraordinary" levels of severe food shortages.[1]
Why do hungry people become evil. Scientific explanation
On April 3, 2023, American experts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill released the results of a study that answers the question of why hungry people become evil.
The work was led by Adam Rosenthal, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology. Scientists have found that the cells of some bacteria can "starve," while releasing harmful toxins into the human body. Moreover, genetically identical cells in the bacterial community can perform different functions: some of them do not demonstrate "aggression," while others produce harmful substances that worsen human well-being. Rosenthal's group tried to find out what the secret of this behavior is.
Experts studied Clostridium perfringens, a rod-shaped bacterium that can be found in the intestinal tract of humans and other vertebrates, as well as in soil. It is the causative agent of food poisoning and one of the causative agents of gas gangrene. Using a microfluidic droplet generator, scientists isolated individual bacterial cells in order to decipher them later. It turned out that Clostridium perfringens cells, which did not produce toxins, were well saturated with nutrients. On the other hand, cells producing harmful compounds lacked these essential nutritional components.
| | If we give more nutrients to cells that produce toxins, maybe we can make them behave a little better, "Rosenthal said. | |
The researchers hope that the results of their work in the future will help in creating new ways to combat bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. This will help in the treatment of various ailments in both humans and animals.[2]
2022: World's starving population reaches 828m
The number of hungry people in the world in 2022 amounted to 828 million people, said Oleg Kobyakov, director of the FAO branch (UN Food and Agriculture Organization) for relations with the Russian Federation, on May 24, 2023.
| | Seven years ago, the world community committed itself to achieving sustainable development by 2030 and one of the main goals was to completely eliminate hunger and ensure food security by 2030. Where are we now? Unfortunately, the number of people starving in the world, which in the last dock-shaped [COVID-19] year was about 680 million people, has not decreased, he said (quoted by Interfax). | |
According to Kobyakov, since 2019, the number of hungry people in the world has increased by 150 million people, and compared to 2020 - by 46 million. The director of the FAO branch for relations with the Russian Federation said that in 2021, about 2.3 billion inhabitants of the planet faced a "lack of access to safe nutritious food" in moderate or severe form, which is 350 million more people than in 2019.
Kobyakov noted that as a result of the pandemic, the number of people for whom healthy food rations have become unavailable exceeded 3 billion. The situation is complicated by the military operation in Ukraine and "more than a dozen other major conflicts and humanitarian emergencies in the world."
According to him, the elimination of hunger is only one part of the task. The second is to provide the population with full nutrition.
| | Now, out of 8 billion people on the planet, over 3 billion cannot afford a healthy diet, "he said on May 24, 2023. | |
Kobyakov also noted that in 2030, in terms of the number of starving, the planet will continue to be almost at the level of 2019.
| | About 670 million people who will still not be sure whether the same daily bread will fall on their table, he said.[3] | |
Notes
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