Acute food insecurity has increased 40 percent this year as recent food price hikes have exacerbated existing pressures from conflict, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said.
According to UN agency, the high food insecurity has affecting a record 270 million people this year.
“High food prices are hunger’s new best friend,” said WFP Chief Economist Arif Husain.
“We already have conflict, climate and COVID-19 working together. Now food prices have joined the deadly trio,” he added.
The WFP said the rates of wheat flour in Lebanon have increased 219 percent year-on-year amid accelerating economic instability, while cooking oil prices have surged 440 percent versus a year ago in war-stricken Syria.
On internationally traded markets, world food prices were up 33.9 percent year-on-year in June, according to the UN food agency’s price index, which measures a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar.
As per a survey by WFP about 690 million people or 9 percent of the world’s population go to bed hungry each night.
Courtesy: Al-jazeera
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