4 June 2018, Rome--- FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva in an opening address today to the organization's executive, the Council, stressed the role of wars and conflict as drivers of global hunger, while lamenting an increase in military spending. Recent figures show that after almost a decade of decline, the number of people affected by hunger in the world has started to increase, with 815 million chronically undernourished in 2016. In 2017, some 124 million required life and livelihoods saving support to avoid the risk of drifting in a famine situation compared with 108 million in 2016.

The FAO Council's current session ends on Friday and besides the main agenda, also includes a series of side events.