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The number of people suffering from undernourishment globally remains scandalously high, pushing the world far off track to meet the goal of eliminating hunger and malnutrition. According to a report released on July 24th by five UN agencies, around 733 million people worldwide were chronically undernourished in 2023. This is around 152 million people more than in 2019 before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ (SOFI), a report released each year by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), shows enormous setbacks, with levels of undernourishment comparable to those in 2008-2009. “While we have made some progress, improvements have been uneven and insufficient. We have seen improvement in more populous countries with growing economies, but hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition continue to increase in many countries around the world,” the heads of the five UN organisations write in their joint foreword to the report. “This is affecting millions of people especially in rural areas, where extreme poverty and food insecurity remain deeply entrenched. Vulnerable populations, particularly women, youth and Indigenous Peoples, are disproportionately affected.” If current trends continue, about 582 million people will still be chronically undernourished in 2030, more than half of them in Africa, making it virtually impossible to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 of zero hunger. [+] more ...