The United Nations actually set itself the goal of ending hunger in the world by 2030. But Corona, the climate crisis and the Ukraine war ensure that the number of starving people is even increasing.

The United Nations goal of eradicating world hunger by 2030 is becoming increasingly distant. “Between 702 and 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021,” the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and four other UN agencies said in a joint report on Wednesday. That’s 46 million more hungry than in 2020 and 150 million more than in 2019.

UN report: 150 million more hungry than before the corona pandemic

According to this, almost ten percent of the world’s population did not have enough to eat last year – i.e. even before the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. According to the report, in which the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the children’s charity Unicef, the World Food Program and the World Health Organization were also involved, the corona pandemic and its consequences have permanently worsened the world’s food situation.

Overall, the five organizations paint a bleak picture: “The world is moving away from its goal of eliminating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all their forms by 2030.” It can now be assumed that by the end of the decade, 670 million people will still be suffering from hunger – “a number similar to that in 2015”.

Russian attack on Ukraine could exacerbate hunger crisis

The report predicts that “the main causes of food insecurity and malnutrition – conflict, extreme weather events and economic shocks – will increase”. It must therefore primarily be a matter of “taking bolder measures to strengthen resilience to future shocks”.

“The report shows how serious the situation in Ukraine was before the war,” said Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD). “The Russian war of aggression on the granary of Ukraine dramatically increases the need and drives even more people to starvation.” What is now needed is “nothing less than a transformation of agricultural and food systems so that they become sustainable and resilient to the climate crisis, but also to what is happening on the world market”.