WFP: One in 8 people worldwide goes to bed hungry

Despite the declining rates of malnutrition and undernutrition in developing countries, hunger remains one of the world's top 10 global health risks, the latest data from the World Food Programme showed. “Approximately 870 million people in the world do not eat enough to be healthy. That means that one is every eight people goes to bed hungry each night,” the WFP said in a statement it issued on Saturday. “It kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined,” it added. The data also shows that the number of those living with chronic hunger has declined by 132 million people over the past 20 years, as the prevalence of undernourishment in developing countries such as the Philippines has fallen to 14.9 percent from 23.2 percent between 1990-1992 and 2010-2012. However, in developing countries a third of all deaths in children under the age of five are linked to undernutrition. “A proper diet in [their first 1,000 days of life, up to age two] can protect children from the metal and physical stunting that can result from malnutrition,” the WFP said. — BM, GMA News