FAO report: In 2023, in Asia-Pacific millions of people have been unable to afford a healthy diet – women fare worse than men
From FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
The Asia and Pacific region accounts for half of the world’s severe food insecurity, with more women than men being food insecure.
©FAO/Mohammad Rakibul Hasan
Bangkok – The convergence of higher food, feed and fuel prices, and a slow recovery from the global pandemic, has done serious harm to the health and livelihoods of millions of already vulnerable people in the Asia-Pacific region, a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has revealed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and the “5Fs” crisis – Food, Feed, Fuel, Fertilizers and Finance – the region witnessed harrowing statistics, yet even now the region is still suffering from their protracted effects. The latest statistics indicate that the region, with 370.7 million undernourished people, continues to represent half of the global total. Similarly, the Asia and Pacific region accounts for half of the world’s severe food insecurity, with more women than men being food insecure. Indeed, rates of anaemia among women of reproductive age, are still off track in terms of World Health Assembly global nutrition targets. So too are prevalence rates on stunting, wasting and overweight among children under 5 years of age.