UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Wednesday that approximately 2.8 billion individuals around the globe cannot afford healthy food. At the same time, the number of those suffering from malnutrition has reached 733 million.
In his remarks on World Food Day, observed annually on October 16, Guterres stressed that “2.8 billion people worldwide cannot access nutritious food. This statistic includes individuals who are overweight, as global obesity rates continue to climb.”
He highlighted that challenges such as hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition are worsening, affecting roughly 733 million people.
The United Nations urges governments to collaborate with all stakeholders to promote the production and sale of healthy, nutritious foods at accessible prices in light of this troubling reality.
According to the UN chief, the “good news” is that a world free from hunger is within reach. He views the 2021 Food Systems Summit as a pivotal moment that set the global community on a path to rectify the inefficiencies and inequalities present in food systems.
In partnership with the World Food Program (WFP), global actions commemorating this day involve collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
