Around 733 million people, which is 9.1% of the world's population, suffer from hunger. The main causes are wars, droughts, floods, and extreme weather events.
Poverty, economic downturns, and lack of access to food also contribute to hunger. This issue particularly affects people in poor countries, especially women, youth, and indigenous peoples.
However, there has been a decrease in the number of hungry people in South America by 5.4 million in 2023. To address this global crisis, Brazil's President Lula plans to present a global anti-hunger initiative at the G20 meeting in Rio, which will be attended by finance ministers from member states.
The United Nations aims to achieve zero hunger, but this goal seems to be moving further away. The situation is particularly dire in Africa, where hunger rates are the highest.
Factors such as conflicts, vulnerability to climate change, economic recession, and debt issues exacerbate the hunger crisis in Africa. In contrast, Latin America has made progress in reducing hunger through better social protection mechanisms.
However, despite improvements in access to healthy food, obesity rates continue to rise globally. Efforts to combat hunger must include adequate funding, better coordination, and the use of technology, such as artificial intelligence, to anticipate and address hunger outbreaks.
