Brasília – This year, the total number of malnourished people worldwide should exceed 1 billion, according to estimates disclosed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Increasing hunger in the world, according to the organization, is not only due to poor agricultural performance, but also a result of the economic crisis “which has reduced income and employment, thus making a proper diet inaccessible to the poorer people.”
In a press release, the general director of the FAO, Jacques Diouf, explains that the “dangerous combination” of the slowing down of the global economy and high food prices has resulted in nearly 100 million more malnourished people, in comparison with figures from 2008.
"The silent crisis of hunger, which affects one sixth of humanity, poses a serious threat to world peace and safety. We must reach a wide consensus, as soon as possible, for quickly and fully eradicating hunger worldwide,” he said.
The FAO also informed that hunger in Latin America increased by nearly 13% this year, in comparison with 2008, due to the world economic crisis. “This is a trend that reverts the progress made over the last few years,” the organization announced in a press release.
According to figures supplied by the FAO, the number of malnourished people in Latin America and the Caribbean reached 52 million between 1995 and 1997. Between 2004 and 2006, it dropped to 45 million. This year, the figures rose again and exceeded figures recorded over ten years ago, totalling 53 million in 2009.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
