Food insecurity:FAO seeks $1.1 billion to fight global hunger

By Our Editor

The number of people facing hunger is estimated at above 135 million.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says it is seeking $1.1 billion to scale up the hunger-fighting, lives and livelihoods of some of the world’s most food-insecure people.

In a report titled FAO in the 2021 humanitarian appeals published Thursday on the FAO webpage, the agency said it aims to reach more than 48.9 million people who rely on agriculture for their survival and livelihoods through the interventions aimed at boosting local food production and nutrition.

It said while strengthening the capacity and resilience of communities to prepare for and cope with crises as well as providing post-disaster livelihoods support to help people resume production, FAO requires $1.1 billion.

The FAO said levels of acute hunger soared throughout 2020, with the total number of people experiencing a crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity globally expected to far exceed 2019’s already staggering high figure of 135 million people.

“The Coronavirus pandemic has further exacerbated pre-existing Vulnerability due to intensifying conflict, historic flooding in some areas, an unprecedented desert locust upsurge and economic crisis, with or without famine declarations some people are already dying of hunger,” the report said.

“The shocks of the past year will reverberate long into 2021 and beyond and we need to urgently scale-up action to avert a worst-case scenario,” director of FAO’s emergencies and resilience division,” Dominique Burgeon, said in the report.

The FAO said hundreds of thousands of girls, boys and men are at extreme risk of acute food insecurity in several countries.

“Many are living in conflict zones where humanitarian access is restricted or challenging,” Burgeon said.

“Millions are living on the precipice one stress or shock away from rapid deterioration. With or without famine declarations, we need to act now,” Burgeon warned.