Namibia’s hunger level improves

Namibia’s hunger level has improved from serious to moderate since last year.In the 2022 Global Hunger Index, Namibia ranked 78th out of 121 countries.By March this year, it was estimated that 75 000 people in the country faced acute food insecurity.The index scores countries on a 100-point &#039;severity scale&#039;, where zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.It has five levels of hunger under which each country falls – low, moderate, serious, alarming and extremely alarming.With a score of 18.7, Namibia has a level of hunger that is moderate, according to the report prepared by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.Namibia’s score has improved since last year when it ranked 80th out of 116 countries on the index and was categorised as having a serious hunger problem.At that stage, the country scored 20.2.Key indicatorsThe index ranks countries based on four key indicators: Undernourishment, child mortality, child wasting and child stunting.According to the report, the proportion of undernourished people in Namibia stands at 18%. This has decreased from 21.5% since 2015. The prevalence of wasting in children under the age of five years has slightly decreased from 7.1% in 2016 to 6.1%.The prevalence of stunting in children under five in Namibia has also decreased slightly, from 22.7% in 2016 to 17.7%. The under-five mortality rate has also decreased from 4.8% in 2014 to 4%.Global progress against hunger has largely stagnated in recent years, the report said.“The 2022 index score for the world is considered moderate, but at 18.2, it shows only a slight decline from the 2014 score of 19.1. Indeed, one indicator used in the index, the prevalence of undernourishment, shows that the share of people who lack regular access to sufficient calories is increasing.”Likely to worsenAs many as 828 million people were undernourished in 2021, representing a reversal of more than a decade of progress against hunger, it read.Further, the situation is likely to worsen in the face of the current barrage of overlapping global crises such as conflict, climate change and the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, all of which are powerful drivers of hunger.“The war in Ukraine has further increased global food, fuel and fertiliser prices and has the potential to significantly worsen hunger in 2023 and beyond.”Yemen has the highest level of hunger according to the index. Its score of 45.1 is considered alarming.

Namibia’s hunger level improves

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Namibia’s hunger level improves

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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