UN: 2.3 billion people severely or moderately hungry in 2021

Sergei, 11, waits his turn to receive donated food during an aid humanitarian distribution in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv (Emilio Morenatti/AP)

World hunger rose in 2021, with around 2.3 billion people facing moderate or severe difficulty obtaining enough to eat – and that was before the Ukraine war, which has sparked increases in the cost of grain, fertiliser and energy, according to a new UN report released.

The paper – The State Of Food Security And Nutrition In The World – paints a grim picture, based on 2021 data, saying the statistics “should dispel any lingering doubts that the world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms”.