[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Due to COVID-19, the number of people suffering from hunger worldwide reached 155 million last year.
According to the 'Global Report on Food Crises 2021' released on the 5th (local time) by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs website 'ReliefWeb,' 155 million people in 55 countries around the world were confirmed to be suffering from hunger last year. This is equivalent to the population of Russia experiencing hunger. The United Nations has been publishing the food crisis report for five years, and last year recorded the highest number of people facing hunger.
The number of people suffering from hunger increased by about 20 million compared to 2019. Dominique Burgeon, Director of Emergency and Resilience at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said, "COVID-19 has worsened the situation of hunger," adding, "Restrictions on the movement of goods and labor caused widespread income losses, particularly impacting families of urban informal workers."
The biggest cause of hunger is physical conflicts such as war. Climate factors are usually the second largest cause, but last year economic shocks surpassed climate factors to become the second leading cause of hunger.
The number of people suffering from hunger due to climate factors decreased from 33.7 million in 2019 to 15.7 million last year. In contrast, hunger caused by economic shocks increased from 23.9 million in 2019 to 40.5 million last year.
The number of people suffering from hunger due to armed conflicts increased from 77.1 million in 2019 to 99.1 million last year. In particular, hunger caused by armed conflicts was severe in the Republic of Congo, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
The report predicted that the situation would worsen further this year due to COVID-19. The collapse of supply chains caused food prices to rise sharply. For countries dependent on imports, currency depreciation could further exacerbate the food crisis. The report also anticipated that women would be more affected because they face a higher risk of job loss.
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