Latest report cited the UN  food agency, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) saying one in six human beings, or one-sixth of the global population, are suffering from hunger and do not have access to enough food. This means the number of people going hungry has jumped by more than 100 million in the past year.

Asia and the Pacific are the worst-affected regions, with an estimated 642 million people suffering from chronic hunger.  FAO blames the global financial crisis for the surge and also warns that the urban poor will be the hardest hit due to job losses, but food pressure will also mount in rural areas as millions of migrants return to the countryside.