Nearly 600 million people could face hunger by 2030 IFAD warns

The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has issued a stark warning that climate-driven shocks, coupled with insufficient financial resources and government action, could leave nearly 600 million people in hunger by 2030.

This dire prediction was shared by IFAD President Alvaro Lario in an interview with The Thomson Reuters Foundation, ahead of the release of IFAD's report on global hunger and nutrition, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Lario emphasized that failing to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030 could exacerbate forced migration, reduce job opportunities, and intensify conflicts over resources, particularly in regions with burgeoning populations, such as Africa.

The report reveals that in 2022, over a third of the global population—approximately 2.8 billion people—could not afford a healthy diet, with over 70% of these individuals residing in low-income countries.

It further forecasts that without significant improvements in food security and equitable access to nutritious diets, 582 million people could remain chronically undernourished by the end of the decade, with more than half of them in Africa.

Lario stressed the urgency of addressing this crisis, noting that solutions exist but require political will to implement.