A total of 735 million people suffer from hunger in the world in 2023, a figure that represents 122 million more people than in 2019according to data from the latest edition of the report ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ (SOFI), published this Wednesday, July 12, by five United Nations specialized agencies.
Specifically, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Program ( WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Given these figures, the organizations warned that if the trends continue as they are, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ending hunger by 2030 “cannot be achieved.”
In this sense, representatives of the five United Nations agencies have noted that meeting “the SDG target of achieving zero hunger by 2030 is a daunting challenge.” In fact, they have indicated that almost 600 million people are expected to still suffer from hunger in 2030.
It also highlights that the main factors of food insecurity and malnutrition are the “new normal”. “We have no choice but to redouble our efforts to transform agri-food systems and harness them to achieve the SDG 2 targets,” he adds.
According to the report, global hunger figures were relatively stable between 2021 and 2022. In addition, in 2022 progress was observed in reducing hunger in Asia and Latin America.
However, the study shows that parts of the world such as western asia, the caribbean and all sub-regions of africa are facing increasingly severe food crises. Thus, Africa continues to be the most affected region, since one in five people faces hunger, more than double the world average.
“There are glimmers of hope, some regions are on track to meet certain nutrition targets by 2030. Overall though, we need an immediate intense global effort to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals. We must build resilience in the face of crises and shocks that cause food insecurity, from conflict to climate,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The rise of urbanization
According to the report, the increase in urbanization is analyzed as a “megatrend” that affects the food that people consume and the way in which they do it, since by 2050 almost seven out of ten people are expected to live in cities, Therefore, governments and other agents working to combat hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition “should try to understand these urbanization trends and take them into account when formulating their policies,” according to the organizations.
In this sense, they have explained that the concept of division between the urban and rural areas “is no longer enough to understand how urbanization is shaping agri-food systems”. “A more complex perspective of the entire rural-urban continuum is needed that takes into account both the degree of connectivity that people have and the types of connections that exist between urban and rural areas,” he says. Even so, he indicates that for the first time, this evolution is systematically documented in eleven countries.
On the other hand, the report shows that food purchases are “significant” not only among rural households, but also along the rural-urban continuum, including those residing far from urban centers. Likewise, the data indicates that the consumption of highly processed foods is also increasing in peri-urban and rural areas of some countries.
In this sense, food insecurity affects more people living in rural areas (33%) than those living in urban areas (26%). The prevalence of stunting in children is also higher in rural areas (35.8%) than in urban areas (22.4%). Likewise, wasting is higher in rural areas (10.5%) than in urban areas (7.7%), while overweight is slightly higher in urban areas (5.4%) compared to rural areas. (3.5%).
Therefore, the report recommends that, in order to effectively promote food security and nutrition, policy interventions, actions and investments “should be guided by a greater understanding of the complex and changing relationship that exists between all the rural-urban continuum and agri-food systems”.
(With information from Europa Press)
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Source-www.infobae.com