The Secretary-General (SG) of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, announced yesterday that more than 673 people are going hungry in the world.

In his message on World Food Day, he said that the world has already achieved encouraging results, but that it remains essential to make the best use of existing resources to eradicate hunger.

"Eighty years ago, in a world ravaged by war, countries came together to defeat hunger. In the decades since, the world has made remarkable progress. However, recent crises show that we cannot let our guard down if we want to preserve these achievements. We have the tools, the technology and the resources to end hunger and ensure healthy, quality food for all people," said Guterres.

The organization points out that, although there is enough food for everyone, conflicts, climate crises, economic instability and social inequality further increase food insecurity.

The UN Secretary-General noted that global progress "is too slow", with some regions even going backwards. As he noted, hunger is being used as a weapon of repression in some regions of the world.

"Hunger is shamefully being used as a weapon. We face the difficult reality of people in conflict zones being deliberately deprived of food, with hunger setting in," he said.

This year's World Food Day is marked by the theme: "Hand in hand for better food and a better future".