International

Hunger in the world remains at high levels for the third consecutive year

Hunger levels remained worryingly high in 2023 for the third consecutive year, with about 733 million people chronically undernourished worldwide, according to a report released on Wednesday by five United Nations agencies.

The report on “The state of food security and nutrition in the world,” presented in Rio de Janeiro, coinciding with the ministerial meetings of the G20, shows an alarming global scenario in which one in eleven people went hungry last year.

Hunger continues to increase in Africa, where 20.4% of its population suffers, stabilizes in Asia (8.1%) and is experiencing progress in Latin America (6.2%), except in the Caribbean region.

“In Africa, conflicts have increased and access to finance has been greatly reduced,” Máximo Torero, chief economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO), told EFE.

The world has gone back 15 years in the fight against hunger, with levels of undernourishment comparable to those of 2008-2009, in the heat of wars, the climate crisis, the loss of purchasing power corroded by inflation, the lack of funding and the growing social inequality.

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These phenomena, especially wars, climatic catastrophes and economic crises, “are increasingly frequent and serious,” the report warns.

The ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic remain. Today, there are 152 million more people who go hungry compared to 2019.

Between 2022 and 2023 there were advances in the rates of growth retardation and exclusive breastfeeding, but access to adequate food continues to be an “unattainable” chimera for many

Last year, about 2,33 billion people, that is, almost a third of the world’s population, faced moderate or severe food insecurity, practically the same level that was reached during the coronavirus crisis.
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“The pandemic has greatly exacerbated inequalities,” Torero said.

This year’s report emphasizes the “urgent” need for “greater and more profitable financing, with a clear and standardized definition” in favor of food security and nutrition, especially in poor countries.

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“You need to invest more and do it smarter. Investments should not come only from governments; also from the private sector, which we hope will have a part in this fight against rural hunger and poverty,” Rossana Polastri, IFAD’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, told EFE.

Not covering that financing deficit will have “social, economic and environmental” consequences that will require solutions that will also cost several billion dollars.

If the trend continues, “582 million people will be chronically undernourished by 2030, half of them in Africa,” warn FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the Children’s Fund (Unicef), authors of the study.

A figure far removed from the target of zero famine set for that year.

To get closer to that goal that seems impossible today, Brazil, which holds the rotating presidency of the G20, launches this Wednesday a Global Alliance against Hunger with which it intends to end this scourge through better coordination and greater investment.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.

International

Trump Floats “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Rising Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is considering what he described as a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, as Washington continues to increase pressure on the island’s communist government.

“The Cuban government is talking to us and they have very serious problems, as you know. They have no money, they have nothing at this moment, but they are talking to us and maybe we will see a friendly takeover of Cuba,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to Texas.

Earlier in the week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba needed a “radical change,” shortly after Washington eased restrictions on oil exports to the island for what officials described as “humanitarian reasons,” amid a deep economic crisis.

The United States has imposed an energy blockade on Cuba since January, citing what it calls an “extraordinary threat” posed by the communist-run island, located roughly 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of Florida, to U.S. national security.

International

Argentina’s Senate Reviews Milei-Backed Labor Overhaul

Argentina’s Senate on Friday began reviewing the Labor Modernization Law promoted by the administration of President Javier Milei, a proposal that would significantly reshape labor rules across the country.

The upper chamber opened its final discussion of the contentious initiative, which revises the method used to calculate severance payments — lowering the amounts owed in dismissal cases — and introduces an “hour bank” mechanism that allows overtime to be offset with paid leave rather than extra wages.

The legislation also broadens the classification of essential services, a change that would place new limits on the right to strike in designated sectors.

The bill was initially approved by the Senate on February 11 and then moved to the Chamber of Deputies, where lawmakers passed it with amendments. It has now returned to the Senate for definitive approval.

Outside the Congress building in Buenos Aires, workers, trade unions and left-wing organizations staged demonstrations beginning at midday. The gathering later thinned out amid reports of disturbances and a strong police presence. Security forces had secured the area surrounding the legislature since early morning hours.

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Union leaders contend that the reform weakens labor protections, while many business representatives back the measure but stress that sustainable formal employment will require economic expansion, improved credit conditions, greater investment and a more dynamic domestic market.