World hunger is increasing dramatically and governments must act now if they want to live up to the pledge of ending the problem by 2030.

The stark warning was issued by five UN agencies in this year’s state of global food security and nutrition report. It says up to 811 million people were undernourished last year.

The largest increase was in Africa while Asia accounted for more than half of all people who lacked access to food. The agencies say the fallout of coronavirus has had an effect on the worsening crisis.

But climate change, conflict, and a widening gap between rich and poor are major drivers as well.

What can be done to help those starving?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Leonie Joubert – science writer and author of The Hungry Season: Feeding Southern Africa’s Cities

Marco Vinicio Sanchez – co-director of the SOFI 2021 report and deputy director of Agrifood Economics at FAO

Fiona Borthwick – researcher at the University of Edinburgh and programme director at the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security