FAO: 768 Million People Worldwide Suffered from Undernutrition in 2020

The world is still facing the problems of hunger and malnutrition. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the number of people suffering from malnutrition worldwide reached 768 million in 2020, an increase of 18.1% from 650.3 million the previous year.

The increase in malnutrition is due to increasingly poor food access in several regions of the world, particularly Asia and Africa. This is inseparable from the Covid-19 pandemic that has swept the globe since the beginning of last year.

By region, the number of malnourished people in Asia was the highest, at 418 million in 2020. Specifically, 305.7 million people suffered from malnutrition in South Asia.

Furthermore, 48.8 million people suffered from malnutrition in Southeast Asia. The number of malnourished people in West Asia and Central Asia were 42.3 million and 2.6 million respectively. Meanwhile, the number of malnourished people in East Asia was not reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that malnutrition is a dangerous threat to global health. Malnutrition is estimated to be the leading cause of 3.1 million child deaths every year.