São Paulo – A report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) claims that developing countries have made significant progress towards halving the proportion of hungry people. The goal was set for 2015 as part of the Millennium Development Goals, and as of October this year, 62 countries have achieved the goal, and other six are on their way to achieve it, according to the FAO.
The countries which have met the goals include Brazil. The number of hungry people has dropped by approximately 10 million in twenty years, from 1992 to 2013, from 22.8 million to 13.6 million. The counting is based on 1990 figures, and the United Nations expects the reduction to take place up until 2015. According to the FAO, Brazil has achieved a reduction of over 54%, considering that as of 1990, 15% of Brazilians were hungry. Now, there are 6.9% hungry people in the country.
The report shows that the number of hungry people in the world has decreased. The number of chronically hungry citizens from 2011 to 2013 was 842 million, approximately one out of eight people. The amount is down from 868 million in 2010-2012, according to the study “Food Insecurity in the World,” published by the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
According to the survey, only 15.7 million of famished people live in developed countries. The remaining people are in developing countries. The FAO claims that economic growth in developing regions has improved income and access to food. The organization ascribes increased food availability to higher agricultural production, favoured by greater government investment, and interest from private investors. Remittances by immigrants have also helped.
The majority of hungry people are in South Asia, at 295 million people, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa, with 223 million, and East Asia, at 167 million. According to the FAO, Sub-Saharan Africa saw only modest progress in the past few years. Regions like South Asia and North Africa made slow progress. No progress was made in West Asia, and more substantial reductions were seen in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. According to the organization, should the current rate of decrease in developing regions continue, then levels close to the goal will be achieved.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
