ROME, April 24 (dpa) - The number of people suffering from hunger remains at a dramatically high level globally, a report by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) suggests.
Last year, 266 million people in 47 countries were at risk of acute food insecurity, according to the network's latest Global Report on Food Crises published on Friday.
Ten countries, including Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen, are disproportionately affected, the report found.
Overall, acute food insecurity has doubled over the past 10 years, according to the report, with the scale of hunger remaining alarmingly high.
The report highlights that last year, for the first time in its history, two famines were declared – in parts of the Gaza Strip and parts of Sudan.
Looking ahead to the current year, the network also paints a bleak picture. Ongoing conflicts, climate change and global economic uncertainty are likely to keep the situation in many countries at a critical level or even worsen it, it said.
In particular, the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could further exacerbate the situation in certain countries and regions. However, the network said it is still too early for a precise assessment.
Germany's Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development joined the GNAFC at the beginning of the year. Niels Annen, state secretary at the ministry, called for "strong, collective and coordinated action" in a statement released in response to the report. --NNN-dpa