The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the number of people teetering on the edge of famine in 43 countries, has risen to 45 million - up by three million this year - as acute hunger spikes around the world.
This number has risen from 42 million earlier in the year, and 27 million in 2019, the agency said, in a news release.
The increase is based on those who are living within the official hunger classification of IPC4 (and worse) in Afghanistan, alongside other increases in Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, Angola, Kenya, and Burundi.
“Tens of millions of people are staring into an abyss. We’ve got conflict, climate change and COVID-19 driving up the numbers of the acutely hungry, and the latest data show there are now more than 45 million people marching towards the brink of starvation,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley.
WFP estimates that the cost of averting famine globally now stands at $7 billion, up from some $6.6 billion, earlier in the year.
