FAO: 733 Mln People Worldwide Suffer from Hunger

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that one in every eleven people globally—around 733 million people—are suffering from hunger.

This issue is primarily driven by conflicts, climate shocks, inequality, and economic downturns.

In a report released on October 16th to mark the organization’s 79th anniversary, the FAO revealed that over 2.8 billion people worldwide cannot afford a healthy diet.

Additionally, the report highlights alarming statistics about malnutrition: approximately 148 million children under the age of five are stunted (short for their age), 45 million children are severely underweight, and 890 million adults suffer from obesity.

During a press conference, Dominique Burgeon, Director of the FAO Liaison Office, stated that while global food production exceeds the demand needed to feed the world’s population, significant imbalances persist across the globe.

He emphasized that the right to adequate food goes beyond freedom from hunger—it also includes access to safe, nutritious, and culturally acceptable food that meets the nutritional needs for an active and healthy life.

Burgeon urged governments to integrate the right to food into agricultural and food system policies, ensuring equal access to a variety of safe and nutritious foods at affordable prices, especially for vulnerable populations.

The FAO also stressed the importance of global cooperation to ensure safe and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid during crises to meet urgent food needs. The organization called on businesses to play a positive role in shaping the food environment by prioritizing diverse and nutritious food options, investing responsibly in sustainable agriculture, ensuring decent working conditions, sharing innovative food technologies, and creating inclusive, accountable, and transparent business models and markets.