NEW YORK, 5 May 2021,  , – ", Distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. "On behalf of UNICEF, I extend thanks to the Global Network on Food Crisis for bringing us together to launch the report and to have this important conversation. "As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to keep the spotlight on the scale and magnitude of the many crises that…

JUBA, 18 December 2020 , – Three United Nations organizations are calling for immediate humanitarian access to parts of South Sudan’s Pibor County in Jonglei State, where people have run out of food and are facing catastrophic levels of hunger according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released today. The high levels of hunger are being…, Extreme hunger in parts of Pibor county, Figures in today’s report estimate that between October and November, 6.5 million people in South Sudan faced severe acute food insecurity and are in need of urgent assistance. This number is projected to grow to 7.24 million between April and July 2021. Today’s report comes after two independent reports published by the IPC Global Support Unit…, Emergency response, WFP has already begun scaling up its lifesaving food and nutritional assistance to critically food insecure areas in Pibor County as well as other areas of concern, extending its humanitarian response beyond the usual lean season and increasing the number of vulnerable people who need support. In the past two months, WFP has extended its food…

NEW YORK, 23 November 2020 –, “As Yemen slowly inches towards what the UN Secretary-General has described as potentially ‘the worst famine in decades,’ the risk to children’s lives is higher than ever. “The warning signs have been clear for far too long. “More than 12 million children need humanitarian assistance. “Acute child malnutrition rates have reached record levels in…

NEW YORK, 9 October 2020 –, “All of us at UNICEF are delighted that our sister agency the World Food Programme has been awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. “This award is a recognition of the tireless work of our friends and colleagues at WFP and all their partners to fight hunger in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries. “UNICEF, the 1965 recipient of this same…

SANA'A, 22 July 2020 , – Economic shocks, conflict, floods, desert locusts and now COVID-19 are creating a perfect storm that could reverse hard-earned food security gains in Yemen, warns the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children…, In 2019, thanks to a massive scale-up, WFP and partners were able to reverse the deterioration in the worst hit areas of Yemen. The warning signs have returned and with Coronavirus pandemic added to the mix, it could get a lot worse if humanitarian action is delayed.” “A dangerous combination of conflict, economic hardship, food scarcity and a…, What do we need to do now?, The IPC analysis’s recommendations for urgent actions include: Ensuring continued and unhindered food assistance to save lives and protecting the livelihoods of populations facing high levels of acute food insecurity, including displaced people; Rehabilitating water infrastructures damaged by floods and reducing the impacts of future floods on…

BRUSSELS/ROME/NEW YORK, 21 April 2020,  – Today an international alliance of UN, governmental, and non-governmental agencies working to address the root causes of extreme hunger have released a new edition of their annual Global Report on Food Crises ., Key findings of the Global Report, The report by the Global Network Against Food Crises, indicates that at the close of 2019, 135 million people across 55 countries and territories experienced acute food insecurity* (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above). Additionally, in, the 55 food-crisis countries covered by the report, 75 million children were stunted and 17 million suffered from wasting in 2019., This is the highest level of acute food insecurity* and malnutrition documented by the Network since the first edition of the report in 2017. Additionally, in 2019, 183 million people were classified in Stressed (IPC/CH Phase 2) condition -- at the cusp of acute hunger and at risk of slipping into Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) if faced…, About the Global Network, The Global Network against Food Crises seeks to better link, integrate and guide existing initiatives, partnerships, programmes and policy processes to sustainably address the root causes of food crises. The Global Report on Food Crises is the flagship publication of the Global Network and is facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (…

ROME/ NEW YORK, 11 September 2018, – New evidence continues to signal that the number of hungry people in the world is growing, reaching 821 million in 2017 or one in every nine people, according to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 released today. Limited progress is also being made in addressing the multiple forms of malnutrition, ranging from child…, The impact of climate variability and extremes on hunger, Changes in climate are already undermining production of major crops such as wheat, rice and maize in tropical and temperate regions and, without building climate resilience, this is expected to worsen as temperatures increase and become more extreme. Analysis in the report shows that the prevalence and number of undernourished people tend to be…, Slow progress on ending all forms of malnutrition , Poor progress has been made in reducing child stunting, the report says, with nearly 151 million children aged under five too short for their age due to malnutrition in 2017, compared to 165 million in 2012. Globally, Africa and Asia accounted for 39 percent and 55 percent of all stunted children, respectively. Prevalence of child wasting remains…, The other side of hunger: obesity on the rise, Adult obesity is worsening, and more than one in eight adults in the world is obese. The problem is most significant in North America, but Africa and Asia are also experiencing an upward trend, the report shows. Undernutrition and obesity coexist in many countries, and can even be seen side by side in the same household. Poor access to nutritious…, Call for action, The report calls for implementing and scaling up interventions aimed at guaranteeing access to nutritious foods and breaking the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition. Policies must pay special attention to groups who are the most vulnerable to the harmful consequences of poor food access: infants, children aged under five, school-aged children…, Key facts and figures, • Number of hungry people in the world in 2017: 821 million or 1 in every 9 people • in Asia: 515 million • in Africa: 256.5 million • in Latin America and the Caribbean: 39 million • Children under 5 affected by stunting (low height-for-age): 150.8 million (22.2%) • Children under 5 affected by wasting (low weight-for-height): 50.5 million (7.5…, Note to editors, The heads of agencies issuing today's report are: José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of FAO; Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD; Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF; David Beasley, Executive Director of WFP; and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. The report is part of tracking progress towards Sustainable…

5 million people in need of food assistance and 1.6 million children at risk of severe acute malnutrition

Four things you need to know

JUBA, 26 February 2018 –,  More than 7 million people in South Sudan – almost two-thirds of the population – could become severely food insecure in the coming months without sustained humanitarian assistance and access, three United Nations agencies warned today. If this happens, this will be the highest ever number of food insecure people in South Sudan. The period of…, A growing tragedy that must not be ignored, Overall hunger levels have risen due to protracted conflict that led to reduced food production and constantly disrupted livelihoods. This was further exacerbated by economic collapse, which impacted markets and trade, making them unable to compensate for the decrease in local food production. Prolonged dry spells, flooding and continued pest…, Mapping hunger – projections for the first half of 2018, • February-April 2018:  6.3 million people in IPC Phases 3 (“Crisis”), 4 (“Emergency”) and 5 (Catastrophe). This includes 50,000 people in IPC Phase 5. • May-July 2018: 7.1 million people in IPC Phases 3, 4 and 5. This includes 155,000 people in IPC Phase 5., 1.3 million children under five at risk of acute malnutrition, Conflict and worsening hunger have led to already soaring rates of malnutrition. Without assistance, as of May, more than 1.3 million children under five will be at risk of acute malnutrition. Malnutrition rates are set to rise once the rainy season starts in April. Once this happens, many communities will become isolated and unable to reach…, Response to date, Last year, FAO, WFP, UNICEF and their partners rolled out their largest ever aid campaign, saving lives and containing famine. In 2017, agency partners conducted more than 135 rapid humanitarian missions to the most hard-to-reach areas, providing life-saving assistance to over 1.8 million people. FAO provided 5 million people – many in difficult-…