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 The report by three U.N. agencies claims that number is a reduction
of 167 million people over the last 10 years.
In 2000, when the world's population stood at 6 billion and the MDGs
were set, the number of people not getting enough to eat was
estimated to be 826 million.
Since then, the world's population has grown to more than 7 billion.
Only 72 of the world's 129 developing countries, 56 percent, met the
MDG of reducing the proportion of hungry people by half in the last
15 years, said the report, "State of Food Insecurity in the World
2015".
South Asia faces the highest burden of hunger, where as many as 281
million people lack sufficient food, U.N. agencies said.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of hunger, with more
than 23 percent of the population not getting enough to eat, the
report said.
Poor governance, violent conflicts and protracted crises are holding
back many African nations. In 1990, 12 countries across the
continent were facing food crises. Twenty years later the number has
risen to 24, including 19 that have been in crisis for more than
eight of the previous 10 years.
The regions that made the most progress include:
* South America, where less than 5 percent of the population faces
hunger today, a reduction of more than 50 percent since 1990.
* Central Asia, South East Asia and parts of North Africa also
showed significant progress, said the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) and other Rome-based U.N. agencies.
Economic growth alone often isn't enough to end hunger, instead
governments should focus on "inclusive growth", the report
recommends.
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Support for the poor through social investments, such as cash
transfer program, employment projects, food distribution schemes,
healthcare and education helped successful countries reduce the
number of hungry residents, U.N. agencies said.
Strong harvests in much of the world, coupled with reduced oil
prices, mean that global food costs are nearing a five-year low.
These trends, along with economic growth and other factors, helped
reduce the number of hungry people worldwide by 10 million in the
past year, according to the FAO.
In the developed countries, some 15 million people also suffer from
hunger, the report said.
(Reporting By Chris Arsenault; Editing By Leslie Gevirtz)
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