In 2019, 688 million people were chronically hungry. Today, this figure has shot up to about 1 billion and of these, 270 million are “marching towards starvation”, to borrow the haunting words of David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme. Climate change is devastating harvests, inducing pests and increasing disasters such as floods and cyclones. And girls and women, who account for 70% of the world’s hungry, are bearing the brunt.
UN Relief Web / Plan International, May 28, 2021
