Conflicts and Climate Change Fueling Rise in World Hunger

Armed conflicts and climate change are key factors being blamed for a rise in worldwide hunger—the first in over a decade, according to a new United Nations report.

Malnutrition and food insecurity affected 815 million people around the world in 2016—up from 777 million the previous year. Many of the countries where people suffer the most from hunger have been affected by armed conflicts. Conflicts between armed groups has gone up by 125 percent since 2010, often growing into larger wars and affecting countries including Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan, where the situation spiraled into a famine for several months earlier this year.

The report casts doubt on the U.N.’s stated aim to eradicate hunger by 2030—a theoretically achievable goal, considering, as the U.N. stressed when it announced the goal, the amount of food in the world is more than enough to feed the global population.

“This has set off alarm bells we cannot afford to ignore,” said the authors of the report, who represent five U.N. agencies. “We will not end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 unless we address all the factors that undermine food security and nutrition. Securing peaceful and inclusive societies is a necessary condition to that end.”

A rise in armed conflicts since 2005 has led to an explosion in the worldwide refugee population, leading to greater food insecurity for 64 million people.