UN FAO Calls on G7 to Take Urgent Actions to Tackle Malnutrition

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations called on the G7 states to take urgent steps to curb malnutrition across the globe, a statement released by the organization said Sunday.

"About one in three persons globally suffers from at least one form of malnutrition: be it hunger, micronutrient deficiencies, or overweight and obesity. Unless we take urgent and effective action, more than half of the world's population will suffer from at least one type of malnutrition by 2030," FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said at the G7 health ministers meeting in Milan, as quoted by the statement.

Da Silva stated that chronic undernourishment was on the rise again globally for the first time in a decade, calling conflicts and climate change the main reasons behind the worsening situation. The director-general also added that over 2 billion people suffered from micronutrient deficiencies, and around 1.9 billion adults were overweight, with 600 million of them being obese, the statement said.

"It is our collective responsibility to ensure that every person on this planet has access to food that is safe, sufficient and nutritious," da Silva stressed.

According to FAO, the estimated number of undernourished people in the world increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, and continued to rise in 2017, with famine striking in parts of South Sudan and hunger being on edge of turning into famine in Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen.