The figures appeared in the Global Report on Food Crisis

ROME / NEW YORK (TIP)): The United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday, May 4,  that the number of people without enough to eat on a daily basis reached all-time high last year and is poised to hit “appalling” new levels as the Ukraine war affects global food production. Almost 193 million people in 53 countries suffered acute food insecurity in 2021 due to what the UN said was a “toxic triple combination” of conflict, weather extremes and the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The UN said the total number of people without adequate food every day increased by 40 million last year, confirming a “worrisome trend” of annual increases over several years.

The figures appeared in the Global Report on Food Crisis, which is produced jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Food Programme and the European Union. The report forecasts that Somalia will face one of the world’s worst food crises in 2022 due to prolonged drought, increasing food prices and persistent violence. The various factors could lead six million Somalis into acute food crisis, the UN said.

“Today, if more is not done to support rural communities, the scale of the devastation in terms of hunger and lost livelihoods will be appalling,” the UN said. “Urgent humanitarian action is needed on a massive scale to prevent that from happening.” The war in Ukraine poses further risks for Somalia and many other African countries that reply on Ukraine and Russia for wheat, fertilizer and other food supplies.