Economics
World Hunger Hit 15-Year High as Virus Stifled Food Access
- About a 10th of all people were undernourished last year: UN
- Conflict, climate and economic downturns increase in frequency
Photographer: Sunday Alamba/AP Photo
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World hunger spiked last year, outpacing population growth and probably reaching the highest since 2005, as the Covid-19 pandemic curbed incomes and access to food, according to the United Nations.
As many as 811 million people -- about a 10th of the global population -- were undernourished in 2020, the UN said in a report on Monday. The agency said it’ll now take a “tremendous” effort for the world to fulfill a pledge to end hunger by 2030, and reiterated a call to transform food systems.