The UN is reporting a series of increased documented cases of hunger and malnutrition experienced in Kenya.
According to a recent United Nations report, the number of hungry and undernourished people has remained persistently high despite improvements in food security worldwide.
Documented in the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report published by five UN agencies one in five people in Africa experienced hunger last year.
Additionally, in total, around 733 million people struggled with hunger in 2023.
Kenya’s Hunger Cases
Kenya saw a significant increase in undernourishment, with rates jumping from 28.2% to 34.5% in 2023.
Additionally, food insecurity in Kenya was high at about 28%, and 18% of Kenyan children under five years old are stunted.
The report was launched during the G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty Task Force Ministerial Meeting in Brazil.
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In addition, the report warns that the world is falling behind in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 of Zero Hunger, by 2030.
In a twist of events, global undernourishment levels have reverted to those seen in 2008-2009, setting back progress by 15 years.
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UN on Varying degrees of hunger
Regional trends have steadily highlighted varying degrees of hunger with Africa experiencing an increase of 20.4%.
Asia has retained stable levels at 8.1%, and Latin America has shown progress at 6.2%.
Despite these figures, the world is also experiencing a double burden of malnutrition with extremes of hunger present on opposite ends.
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These extremes comprise the coexistence of undernutrition with notable cases of obesity which have surged globally across all age groups.
While thinness and underweight have declined over the past two decades, obesity has sharply increased paving the way for a varied discussion on access to nutrition.
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