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A new report on global hunger says that despite advances, some 795 million people are going hungry or suffering from malnutrition. It says more than one in four children is chronically malnourished, according to the Global Hunger Index released on Monday by German charity Welthungerhilfe, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the aid organization Concern Worldwide

According to the source, the armed conflicts were now the main reason for food shortages, Agency France Presse reported.

"Conflicts such as those in Syria, Iraq and South Sudan are the biggest drivers of starvation," said Welthungerhilfe President Bärbel Dieckmann, noting that an estimated 172 million people were affected by war worldwide.

The Index showed that eight of the 117 countries included in the study had "very serious" hunger problems. Most of these countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, with the biggest reported problems being in the Central African Republic, Chad and Zambia.

In addition to the 25 percent of children who are suffering from chronic malnutrition and associated growth disruption, 9 percent of all children in the world are acutely malnourished, according to the Index.