Number of undernourished people nears 1 million: statistics
More Vietnamese people have gone hungry in the first seven months of this year from a year earlier, getting closer to the 1 million mark, the latest statistics show.
In July alone, 23,200 households across Vietnam were pushed into hunger, or 97,300 people had to live with insufficient food, Do Anh Kiem, head of the social and environmental statistic division with the General Statistics Office, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on July 29.
Compared to July 2015, the number of hungry households rose 5.2 times, whereas the number of undernourished people was 4.9 times higher.
In the Jan-Jul period, the number of hungry families was 234,400, up 24.7% from a year earlier. This means as many as 971,000 people living in hunger, a 25.2% increase year on year.
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The drought crises hitting numerous provinces in the northern mountainous and Central Highland regions are to blame for the rising hunger rate. The unfavorable weather conditions extended the between-crop period, resulting in lower yields.
The provinces with the most undernourished households are Dak Lak, Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Yen Bai.
In the year to date, those hungry households have received aid, donated by central and local agencies and organizations, totaling 15,400 metric tons of food and VND590 million (US$26,339) in cash.
The aid in July was 1,400 metric tons of food.
