Acute food insecurity, the report finds, poses an immediate threat to people's livelihoods and lives by sliding them into famine. Since 2016, the number of people living under food stress has more than tripled, from 83.3 million to 253 million in 2022. The report highlights the protracted nature of many food crises.
The ten largest food crises in 2022 affecting 163 million people representing 63% of the total global population, in order of magnitude are those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nigeria, yemen, Myanmar, the Syrian Arab Republic, Sudan, Ukraine and Pakistan.
In the 58 food crisis countries/territories covered by the report, more than 35 million children under the age of 5 suffered from wasting. As for the causes of acute food insecurity, they are mutually reinforcing, creating a spiraling negative effect.
"A very worrying picture" according to the director of the Emergencies and Resilience Office of FAO, Rein Paulsen. "Four reports, for four consecutive years - he underlines - have recorded a constant worsening of the situation. Urgent action is needed, of scale, and on the correct type of action to take to address the situation".
The economic resilience of poor countries has declined sharply over the past three years, as they now face long periods of recovery and a reduced ability to cope with future shocks. Conflict was the most significant factor in 19 countries/territories, affecting 117 million people versus 139 million in 2021; a decline due to the onset of economic shocks that have overtaken the war in Afghanistan, the Syrian Arab Republic and South Sudan. Weather and climate extremes are responsible for hunger in 12 countries where 56.8 million people live, compared to 23.5 million in eight countries in 2021. The results of the report also confirm the negative impact of the war in Ukraine. After the peak in the first half of 2022,
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