THE Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported that the number of hungry people in Africa continues to increase due to conflict, climate change, and the economic slowdowns, including those triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report was published in partnership with the African Union Commission and the UN Economic Commission for Africa.
According to the report, hunger on the continent significantly worsened starting in 2013, with peaks in 2019 and 2020, and also projected in 2021 since there’s no noticeable change in hunger’s main drivers. Thus, the three agencies that came up with the report are urging the African countries to heed the call for agri-food systems transformation.
“A common vision, strong political leadership and effective cross-sectoral collaboration, which includes the private sector, are essential to agree on trade-offs and to identify and implement sustainable solutions that transform agri-food systems,” they said in the interactive report titled Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2021: Statistics and Trends.
