2023-Public-Sector-Perspectives

Emerging Markets Need Food Crisis Support and Long-Term Solutions F rom 2005 to 2015 global hunger was on a downward trajectory. There was a 30% fall in the number of people going to bed hungry, from around 805 million down to 590 million people, as a result of proactive policies and intervention. 1 But since 2015, the proportion of the global population going hungry has been rising, with growth most acute in countries affected by conflict and climate-related disasters. By 2021, all previous progress had been fully reversed, with 828 million people hungry, above levels seen in 2005. 2 Indeed, the food crisis is getting worse, with the number of people without regular access to food more than doubling, and the prevalence of undernourishment reaching 9.8% in 2021 from 8% in 2019. 3 This decline in food security is most severe in emerging markets. Beyond hunger, nearly one in three people globally — 2.3 billion — did not have access to adequate food in 2020, an increase of almost 350 million people compared to before the COVID‑19 pandemic. While the global prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity has been slowly on the rise since 2014, the estimated increase in 2020 was equal to that of the previous five years combined. Simulations suggest the number of undernourished people will increase by 13 million in 2022 and a further 19 million in 2023. 4 1 https://editorials.voa.gov/a/staring-down-a-global-food-crisis/6702129.html 2 https://www.who.int/news/item/06-07-2022-un-report--global-hunger-numbers-rose-to-as-many-as-828-million-in-2021 3 https://www.who.int/news/item/06-07-2022-un-report--global-hunger-numbers-rose-to-as-many-as-828-million-in-2021 4 https://www.globalagriculture.org/whats-new/news/en/34632.html Georgi Yordanov Head of Public Sector Emerging Europe, Citi Andrew Park Public Sector Group, Citi Emma Hampton Public Sector Group, Citi According to a special United Nations task force created in early 2022 to address rising food insecurity, more than 60 countries around the world are struggling to afford agricultural imports. Citi Perspectives for the Public Sector 21