Report: 34 million go hungry in Arica

Africa is becoming hungrier than ever, with the number of undernourished people now standing at 257 million, a new report has shown.

According to the joint report of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), following years of decline, hunger is on the rise.

This means hunger now affects 20 per cent of the population on the continent, more than any other region in the world.

This is attributed to, among other factors, difficult global economic conditions, adverse climatic conditions due to El Niño, and soaring staple food prices.

“After years of decline... there are 821 million undernourished people in the world. Of these, 257 million are in Africa, of which 237 million are in sub-Saharan Africa and 20 million in Northern Africa,” states the 2018 Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition Report.

Compared to 2015, there are 34.5 million more undernourished people in Africa. Nearly half of the increase is due to the rise in the number of underfed people in Western Africa while a third is from Eastern Africa.