Rohit Shishodia
A 'State of Food Security and Nutritional World' report of the United Nations has revealed that 821.6 million, or 1 in 9, people did not have enough food to consume in 2018.

The report highlights that the number of hungry people has increased from 811 million in 2017 to 821.6 million in 2019.

The report reveals that 513.9 million hungry people live in Asia while 256.1 million live in Africa. Latin America and the Caribbean account for 42.5 million hungry people.

The report states that not only the hungry but also the number of obese and overweight people continues to grow worldwide.

The report highlights that 148.9 children under five are affected by stunting while 49.5 million children of the same age are affected by wasting.

The report states that 40 million children under 5 are overweight. 338 million school going children and adolescents are overweight. 672 million adults are obese.

Experts have said that the figures of the hungry are worrying and pose a challenge to achieve 0% hunger under Sustainable Development Goals.

The heads of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have jointly stressed that their actions to tackle these troubling trends will have to be bolder, not only in scale but also in terms of multisectoral collaboration.