According to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), about 811 million people are chronically hungry. Another 48.9 million souls face famine amid the highest global food inflation since 1990.
This dramatic rise in food prices was the result of the Ukrainian conflict, which left numerous people across 43 countries facing food shortages.
Currently, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen are affected the most, with some 750,000 starving people.
Yet, the Ukrainian conflict is not the only reason for this global food shortage. Namely, the recent pandemic and the growing climate change issues also contribute to today’s global food crisis.
For instance, people facing severe food insecurity doubled during the pandemic, reaching 276 million. Likewise, the number of people living in famine has increased fivefold since 2016 — over half a million souls.
Worse yet, it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 9 million people die from hunger every year.
In addition, the Ukrainian conflict prompted more than 20 countries to restrict or ban the export of certain foods like wheat, rye, and barley.
This has put even more strain on the global food trade, deepening the crisis and increasing oil prices.
To make matters worse, Russia and Ukraine account for a quarter of the global wheat and more than half of the world’s sunflower seed oil exports.
