Nearly one in nine people in the world are going hungry, with the coronavirus pandemic exacerbating already worsening trends this year, according to a United Nations report published Monday, report agencies.
Economic slowdowns and climate-related shocks are pushing more people into hunger, while nutritious foods remain too expensive for many, contributing not only to under nourishment, but to growing rates of obesity in adults and children.
"After decades of long decline, the number of people suffering from hunger has been slowly increasing since 2014," said the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World annual report.
Not only did people need enough food, but nutritious food, the study said, citing costly "health and environmental consequences" of sub-par diets.
Nearly 690 million people, or 8.9 percent of people around the globe, are hungry, the UN found.
That number rose by 10 million people in just one year to 2019, and by 60 million in the past five years, found the study, which said eradicating hunger by 2030 - a goal set five years ago - will be impossible if trends continue.
By 2030, over 890 million people could be affected by hunger, or 9.8 per cent of the world's population, it estimated.
Meanwhile, the pandemic has killed at least 572,900 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year, according to Worldometers tally on Monday based on official sources.
Global infections stood 13.11 million on Monday.
The United States is the worst-hit country with 135,205 deaths. It is followed by Brazil with 72,100, Britain with 44,819, Mexico with 35,006 and Italy with 34,954 fatalities.
Latin America leapfrogs the United States and Canada to become the world's second-worst affected region for coronavirus deaths, according to an AFP tally.
With 144,758 deaths officially declared by 0800 GMT, the region surpassed the US and Canada's total of 144,023 and is now behind only Europe with 202,505 deaths.
Brazil accounts for almost half of Latin America's recorded fatalities.
The International Monetary Fund cuts its Middle East and North Africa economic forecast to its lowest level in 50 years, over the "twin shock" of the pandemic and low oil prices.
The region's economy is tipped to contract by 5.7 percent this year, and by as much as 13 percent in countries torn by conflict, it warns.
Sri Lanka orders government schools to shut nationwide, just a week after they re-opened, following a surge in new cases.
Meanwhile, in another development, Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE said on Monday two of their experimental coronavirus vaccines received 'fast track' designation from the U.S. health agency, speeding up the regulatory review process.
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