More than 120 million people struggled with acute food insecurity in 2017

29, Mar 2018 | CJP Team

The recently released Global Report on Food Crises found that around 124 million in 51 countries struggled with acute food insecurity in 2017, according to the FAO. This figure was 11 million higher than 2016. According to the report, acute food insecurity is defined as hunger so severe that it poses an immediate threat to lives and livelihoods. The increase in the number of those impacted by acute food insecurity could largely be ascribed to fresh or worsened insecurity and conflict in Yemen, South Sudan, northern Nigeria, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Conflict remained the  for acute food insecurity in 18 nations, of which 15 are in the Middle East and Africa. It is the chief cause of the majority of cases of acute food insecurity, responsible for 60% of the total, or 74 million people. Climate-related disasters, primarily drought, also lead to food crises in 23 nations, of which two-thirds are in Africa. They lead to around 39 million people struggling with acute food insecurity. Several organisations were involved in producing the Global Report on Food Crises, including the European Union, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF).