Around 13% of population had food shortage in 2015-2017

AMMAN — The rate of food shortage increased to 13.5 per cent among the population of Jordan in the period 2015-2017, according to a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report.

The report, cited by Sisterhood is Global (SIGI), said that 1.3 million people suffered from food shortage compared with 6.6 per cent in 2004-2006.

The report, which was released as the human community celebrated World Food Day on Tuesday, acknowledged that Jordan and other developing countries received more than 80 per cent of the total number of the Syrian refugees, which “resulted in heavy burden on food security”. 

Jordan’s population stood at around 10 million during the said period.  

The figures also indicated that dwarfism among children below five years old decreased to 7.8 per cent in 2012 compared with 12 per cent in 2002. The report also showed that the rate of overweight among this age category was steady at 4.7 per cent for 2005-2016. Food shortage is an indication for this phenomenon, slimness and weight loss, the report said.  

Adults’ overweight rate rose to 33.4 per cent in 2016 compared with 30.3 per cent in 2012, while anemia among women in the fertility age reached 34.7 per cent in 2016 compared with 30.8 per cent in 2012.