The number of people in the world facing acute hunger is predicted to increase by 18 million due to the crisis in Ukraine, Maurizio Martina, the vice director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said in an interview with Corriere della Sera, published on Friday.
According to the agency’s estimates, in 2021, famine affected 53 countries, leaving almost 200 million people around the globe suffering from hunger.
“This war will further aggravate the scenario. Our first estimates point to an increase of another 18 million people, but it is clear that much will also depend on the development of the conflict,” Martina said.
He noted that the situation with the global threat to grain supplies has become alarming for developing countries, since 36 of the countries with a food crisis previously bought more than 10% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine.