While on average urban residents are less likely to go hungry than rural residents, a large proportion of the urban poor suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition.

This is closely linked to low and irregular earnings, combined with inadequate housing and infrastructure, limited access to basic services and exposure to environmental hazards.

After decades of decline, current estimates suggest that for the past three years the numbers of chronically malnourished people have grown to 821 million: that’s one in every nine people, with about two billion people experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity. Nearly 144 million children under the age of five are stunted, and 47 million are threatened by wasting as a result.

One of the most immediate and devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is how it affects access to nutritious diets, with large numbers of people relying on food parcels and food banks. The number of malnourished people may increase by over 130 million because of the pandemic.