In 2019, more than 135 million people in 55 countries and territories suffered acute food insecurity and required emergency humanitarian assistance, according to the latest report of the Global Network Against Food Crises, released on 22 April - an increase over the previous year and an alarming number in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
Last year, 75 million children worldwide were stunted and 17 million were emaciated. This is the highest level of acute food insecurity and malnutrition ever reported by this network of UN agencies, which the EU has been supporting since its launch in 2016 and for which it mobilised €20 million last October (see EUROPE 12348/6).
Of the 135 million people suffering from acute food insecurity, more than half (73 million) lived in Africa, 43 million in the Middle East and Asia and 18.5 million in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report also shows that at the end of 2019, 189 million people were at high risk of acute food insecurity if faced with additional shocks, which is of particular concern.
The Global Network Against Food Crises warns that the situation could continue to worsen in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic and expresses its strong commitment to continue helping the millions of vulnerable people.
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/3cFpmwY (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)