Oxfam: 11 people die of hunger each minute around the globe

Source: The Hindu

What is the news?

Findings of the Oxfam report: The Hunger Virus Multiplies

Key findings

• Hunger is a greater threat: Death toll from famine outpaces that of COVID-19, which kills around seven people per minute. 11 people die of hunger each minute and that the number facing famine-like conditions around the globe has increased six times over the last year.
• Food insecurity has increased: 155 million people around the world now live at crisis levels of food insecurity or worse (some 20 million more than last year).
  • Around two-thirds of them face hunger because their country is in military conflict.
• Today, the never-ending conflict and the economic impact of COVID-19, and a worsening climate crisis, has pushed more than 520,000 people to the brink of starvation. 
• Many countries mired in conflict have been included as the worst hunger hot spots” including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
• Military spending has increased: Despite the pandemic, global military spending increased by $51 billion during the pandemic — an amount that exceeds by at least six times what the U.N. needs to stop hunger.
• Global warming and the economic impact of the pandemic have caused a 40% increase in global food prices, the highest in over a decade. This surge has contributed significantly to pushing tens of millions more people into hunger.

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