Global hunger situation undeniably grim amid conflicts - GHI report

The global hunger situation is "undeniably grim" amid conflicts, climate issues and the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report said on Thursday.

"The overlapping crises facing the world are exposing the weaknesses of food systems, from global to local, and highlighting the vulnerability of populations around the world to hunger," the report said.

Although the GHI score for the world, 18.2, was considered moderate, it was still below 2014's score of 19.1, it added.

In 2021, around 830 million people were under-nourished, the report said, adding: "Without a major shift, neither the world as a whole nor approximately 46 countries are projected to achieve even low hunger as measured by the GHI by 2030."

Touching on Russia's war on Ukraine, the report said the war has further increased global food, fuel and fertilizer prices and that it has the potential to cause a worse hunger situation in 2023 and beyond.

The report noted that hunger is at alarming levels in five countries-Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Yemen-and it is "provisionally considered alarming" in four additional countries, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria.