A new report has revealed that hunger in Africa is on the rise, affecting 20 per cent of the population more than any other region in the world.
Compared to 2015, there are 34.5 million more undernourished people in Africa, reveals a joint report of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
The number of undernourished people now stands at 257 million.
This is attributed to, among other factors, difficult global economic conditions, adverse climatic conditions due to El Niño, and soaring staple food prices.
Nearly half of the increase is due to the rise in the number of underfed people in Western Africa while a third is from Eastern Africa.