Hunger Pains

 According to a report released Tuesday by the Food and Agricultural Organization and other United Nations agencies growing numbers of people in Asia lack enough to eat as food insecurity rises with higher prices and worsening poverty.

Nearly a half-billion people, more than eight in 10 of them in South Asia, were undernourished in 2021 and more than 1 billion faced moderate to severe food insecurity, the report said. 

 The report says nearly a quarter of children in the Asia-Pacific are affected by stunting, or small height for their ages.

One-third of women in Asia aged 15-49 are affected by anemia, which causes fatigue and, in its most severe forms, can cause lung and heart damage.

In Afghanistan, 70% of people are facing moderate or severe food insecurity as the economy has collapsed after the Taliban seized power in August 2021, driving millions into poverty and hunger as foreign aid stopped almost overnight.

In Cambodia, half of the population faces moderate or severe food insecurity.

 Nearly one in 10 Thais were undernourished in 2019-2021, according to data in the report — a higher proportion than several years earlier

For the world, the prevalence of food insecurity rose to more than 29% in 2021 from 21% in 2014.

Nearly 2 billion people — or almost 45% of people living in Asia — cannot afford healthy diets, contributing to problems with anemia and obesity as well as hunger.

FAO: Rising prices, food insecurity add to ranks of hungry | AP News