Vongai Masuka

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on  governments across the world to work together towards ending the scourge of hunger to bring an end to the crisis.

In a speech, Guterres said achieving zero hunger is possible if governments put aside their differences and focus on feeding their people.

“Zero hunger is achievable as World Food Day calls for government, the private sector and civil societies to work together to prioritize feeding the hungry to bring an ending to this crisis.

“This crisis requires, action first and foremost from national governments, they need to execute whichever responsibility to ensure that their people have enough to eat,” he said.

Guterres also said 700 million people around the world are going hungry, and urged governments to execute action against the hunger crisis as the World Food Day approaches on 16 October.

“World Food Day 2023 comes during the global food crisis with the world moving backwards in ending hunger and malnutrition.

“700 million people around the world are going hungry and 50 million children are at a risk of death. It is our concern that a person dies of hunger every few seconds while the World Food Program has been forced to cut its essential aid programs,” he said.

In 2022, the World Food Program provided food and cash assistance to over 140 million people in 84 countries. This included delivering emergency food aid in response to crises such as the war in Ukraine, the drought in the Horn of Africa, and the conflict in Afghanistan.