Americas : Latin America and the Caribbean

Alarming levels of hunger and food insecurity are on the rise across the globe. According to the September 2021 mid-year update to the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), an estimated 161 million people in 42 countries/territories have faced Crisis-level (IPC/CH Phase 3) food insecurity or higher. This number is up from the estimated 155 million acutely food-insecure people reported by the GRFC for 2020.

Food security is expected to further deteriorate in 23 countries already facing food crises, according to a new report from FAO and WFP. These worsening conditions come as countries and regions are reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling to address conflict, climate change, and economic downturn.

The latest Global Hunger Index (GHI) was released this week by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide. Presenting an annual, multidimensional measure of national, regional, and global hunger, the 2015 GHI utilizes data and projections from various UN agencies for 2010-2016 and provides scores from 9.9 or lower to denote “low” hunger to 35-49.9 to denote “alarming” hunger. (For more information about the 2015 GHI and overall global results, please read this new post on the global Food Security Portal.)

“Hidden hunger,” or malnutrition that stems from eating too few micronutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, is gaining widespread attention as a threat to global health. A working paper released by the CGIAR’s HarvestPlus program estimates that as many as 2 billion people worldwide are affected by micronutrient malnutrition.

This blog was originally posted on IFPRI.org .

Hunger remains a persistent global challenge as the 2015 deadline for the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) draws near. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), despite significant inroads made in the fight against hunger and malnutrition since 1990, 805 million people are still going hungry.