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World hunger rises for the third straight year

World hunger is on the rise according to a report by the Food and Ag Organization of the United Nations.

The report says the number of hungry people reached 821 million in 2017, up from 804 million the previous year.

Limited progress has been made in addressing the “double burden” of malnutrition. The report found that the same countries that have undernutrition also have obesity.

Hunger is worsening in Africa, where undernourishment affects almost 21 percent of the population.

Climate variability and weather extremes, like droughts, floods, and storms, play a role in the rise in global hunger. The annual report found that the prevalence of undernourished people is higher in countries that have climate extremes.

Hunger has been on the rise for the past three years and is returning to levels from a decade ago. The UN says there must be a shift toward nutrition-sensitive ag and food systems and more must be done to build climate resilience.

The 2018 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World was released this week.