FAO report on Food security

• Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023 – Statistics and Trends report was recently launched by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• Southern Asia had the most people (1.4 billion) who could not afford the cost of a healthy diet in 2021.
• About half of the world’s undernourished and food insecure people live in the Asia-Pacific region, with more food-insecure individuals in Southern Asia than any other subregion.
• Women fared worse in food insecurity than men across the subregions, except for Eastern Asia.
  • Almost one-tenth of women face severe food insecurity, while nearly one-fourth have moderate food insecurity.
• The report said during the COVID-19 pandemic and the “5Fs” crisis – Food, Feed, Fuel, Fertilisers, and Finance – the region witnessed harrowing statistics.

INDIA SPECIFIC FINDINGS

• 1% of Indians were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021 as compared to 76.2% in 2020.
• 6% of the country’s population is undernourished.
• 7% of children of the country under five years of age suffered with stunted growth.
• For wasting (low weight for height), India recorded the highest rate in the region with 18.7% children suffering.
• 8% of the children below five years were overweight, another health risk.
• 53% of the country’s women aged between 15 to 49 had