About 733 million people, or some 9 percent of the world population, may have faced hunger in 2023, according to the latest edition of the United Nations' (UN) "State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" released on Wednesday.

The figure is about 152 million more than of 2019, said the report titled "State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024: Financing to End Hunger, Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in All Its Forms."

The report, which was published by five UN agencies: the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, was launched in the context of the G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty Task Force Ministerial Meeting in Brazil.

According to the report, trends are not yet moving in the right direction to end hunger and food insecurity by 2030, and the indicators of progress towards global nutrition targets similarly show that the world is not on track to eliminate all forms of malnutrition, with billions of people still lacking access to nutritious, safe and sufficient food.

(Cover via CFP)