This was revealed by a report by six United Nations agencies.

Hunger and malnutrition have reached critical levels in the Arab region as access to basic foods has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, according to a United Nations report released today.

Produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD),the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organizations (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the 2022 Near East and North Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition: Trade as an Enabler for Food Security and Nutrition, examines the state of regional food security, providing analysis and recommendations on how to mitigate the situation.

The report reveals that an estimated 53.9 million people suffered from severe food insecurity in the Arab region in 2021, accounting for a 55 percent increase since 2010. This is also an increase of 5 million people from the previous year. Moderate or severe food insecurity has also continued its upward trend, affecting an estimated 154.3 million people in 2021, an increase of 11.6 million people over the previous year, the report also warned.
In addition, it stated that more than half the population in the Arab States, or 162.7 million people, could not afford a healthy diet in 2020. The cost of a healthy diet in the Arab region has been increasing each year since 2017, reaching $3.47 per person per day in 2020.
The Arab region continues to suffer from multiple forms of malnutrition. While the prevalence of stunting (1) of 20.5 percent and affecting one out of every five children under 5 years of age was lower than the global average, the report indicates that the regional indicators for wasting (2), 7.8 percent, is higher than the global average of 6.7 percent. The prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age has shown a steady increase since 2000 and has reached 10.7 percent in 2020.

In addition, the report highlights that the latest available estimates show that 28.8 percent of the adult population (18 years and above) of the Arab region was obese, which is more than double the global average.

United Nations agencies have concluded that the Arab region is unlikely to reach zero hunger by 2030. The rapporteurs point to trade as an essential factor in ensuring all four dimensions of food security and nutrition (availability, access, use and stability) by increasing the quantity and variety of food and decreasing its price for net food importing countries. Therefore, the report concludes, the Arab region needs to improve agri-food systems to provide food security and better nutrition for all, be economically viable, be inclusive, and have a positive impact on climate and the environment.