Asia lags behind pre-pandemic levels of food security, UN food agency says

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hunger remains a chronic problem in Asia, with 55 million more people undernourished in 2022 than before the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization says in its latest assessment of food security in the region. Most of those living without enough to eat are in South Asia, and women tend to be less food secure than men, the report says. The FAO data show the share of people in the region facing moderate food insecurity, uncertain of their ability to obtain food and having to sometimes eat less or poorer food due to a lack of money, or those experiencing hunger that puts their well-being at serious risk, still hovers near 30% for the world and above 25% for Asia and the Pacific. In Africa, the United Nations says at least three of every four Africans can’t afford a healthy diet because of an “unprecedented food crisis.” More than half of the 735 million people who are nourished worldwide live in the Asia-Pacific, most of them in South Asia.