Oxfam reaction to the UN Global Hunger report: ending hunger is possible but requires bold collective action

In reaction to the publicaiton today of the FAO’s “State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World 2023” report, stating that up to 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, and that 600 million people will be chronically undernourished by 2030, Hanna Saarinen, Oxfam International Food Policy Lead said:  

“It is unforgivable for governments to watch billions of people going hungry in a world of plenty, as they put the interests of mega rich agribusinesses and energy companies before those of the most vulnerable people and widen the inequality gap.  

“Billionaires’ wealth has exploded in recent years on the back of the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine whilst over three billion people cannot afford an adequate diet. Food and energy companies more than doubled their profits in 2022.  

“Meanwhile, the climate crisis is outpacing our humanitarian systems’ ability to respond.  In Somalia, one of the countries least responsible for the climate crisis, a prolonged climate-induced drought has pushed one in three people to acute hunger. 

“An entire generation of undernourished children in low-income countries is now suffering chronic illness, poor school performance and, eventually, a future of poor earnings and opportunities. In East Africa alone, over 8 million children under five – nearly the entire population of Switzerland – suffer acute malnutrition.    

“Solutions to end world hunger exist but they require bold and united political action. Governments must support small-scale food producers, and promote especially the rights of women farmers, who are key in the fight against global hunger.  They should also properly tax corporate windfall profits, cancel poor countries debt, and regulate market speculators from inflating food prices.