HungerMap, a near real-time food security monitoring system of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), has revealed that 14.8 million people are experiencing insufficient food consumption in Turkey, a country with a population of 82.3 million.
The figure shows that the number of those suffering from malnutrition in Turkey increased by 410,000 within the past three months and 50,000 compared to a month ago.
According to Hunger Map, 1.7 percent of children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition in Turkey, while 6 percent of them suffer from chronic malnutrition.
The region with the highest rate of malnutrition in the country is the southeastern province of Şırnak with 20.25 percent, the data also show.
On a larger scale, 866 million people do not have sufficient food consumption across 92 countries around the world, with 333 million people in 36 countries suffering from actual malnutrition, and the WFP estimating there are 533 million people in 56 countries in the same situation, Bianet reported on Monday, citing HungerMap.
Over the past several years Turkey has been suffering from a deteriorating economy, with high inflation and unemployment, as well as a poor human rights record. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is criticized for mishandling the economy, emptying the state’s coffers and establishing one-man rule in the country where dissent is suppressed and opponents are jailed on politically motivated charges.
The country is currently in the middle of an economic crisis as food and fuel prices have more than doubled in the last few months. An increasing number of Turks have complained on social media about rising electricity bills and falling into debt. Many have said even basic foods such as vegetables have become a luxury as prices have risen by nearly 400 percent.
Turkey’s inflation climbed to its highest level since 1998, hitting an annual 73.5 percent in May, according to official data, while the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), made up of independent Turkish economists, said last week that inflation actually accelerated by a whopping 160.8 percent, more than twice the official figure.