Conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen are the prime culprit behind the doubling of undernourished people in the Near East, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today as he visited Beirut, where FAO is opening a new sub-regional office.

Lebanon and 14 other countries in the Near East and North Africa region achieved the Millennium Development Goal of halving hunger rates by 2015, but food security problems have grown in absolute terms due to civil conflicts in the region.