FAO: The Near East and North Africa Only Region With Higher Undernourishment.

Cairo, 4 June 2105(Lana) Conflicts and protracted crises in the Near East and North Africa mean the region is the only region to have seen its overall prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) increase from the level of a quarter of a century ago, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Wednesday. 'We should commend the 15 countries in the region that have achieved the Millennium Development Goal hunger target of halving the proportion of people suffering from undernourishment or keeping it below 5 percent. These include: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi-Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates," said Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, FAO Assistant Director- General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa Region. 15 countries out of 19 achieved MDG hunger target but protracted crises elsewhere push malnutrition rates up, FAO said in a first regional report on food insecurity in Near East and North Africa. The report said protracted conflicts and crises in Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and in the West Bank and Gaza had made the Near East and North Africa the only region in the world with high undernourishment in a quarter century. It indicated that persons suffering chronic malnutrition in the near East and North Africa has doubled since 1990 to 33 million, and undernourishment has increased by 6% to 7%. =Lana=