United Nations published this video item, entitled “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022- Interview with FAO Chief Economist” – below is their description.
The world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030, a goal set by the United Nations in 2015, amidst increasing extreme poverty and chronic malnourishment, according to a new United Nations report. The State Of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 report, issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) found that if the current trends continue, in 2030 we will have 670 million people chronically undernourished worldwide , exactly the same as we had in 2015 when the world set the Zero Hunger initiative, pledging to eliminate hunger and malnourishment by 2030.
Produced by: @Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Background:
The world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030, a goal set by the United Nations in 2015, amidst increasing extreme poverty and chronic malnourishment, according to a new United Nations report.
The State Of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 report, issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) found that if the current trends continue, in 2030 we will have 670 million people chronically undernourished worldwide, exactly the same as we had in 2015 when the world set the Zero Hunger initiative, pledging to eliminate hunger and malnourishment by 2030.
The key drivers behind food insecurity are conflict, climate change and the economic slowdown due to COVID19, which combined with growing inequalities are pushing millions into extreme poverty.
The ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict, involving two of the biggest global producers of staple cereals, gas and fertilizer, is disrupting supply chains and further affecting prices of grain, fertilizer, and energy. In the first half of 2022, this resulted in higher food price.
Global economic growth prospects for 2022 have been significantly revised downward which will reflect in less financial resources to invest in agrifood systems. Public-private partnerships will be extremely important for investments in agrifood systems and public spending and investments will be critical in the face of climate extremes and supply chain disruptions, as the private investors may be hesitant to invest in agreefood.
SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, FAO:
“The only way we will cope with this so that people have more access to healthy diets so that we have a reduction of chronic undernourishment is if we increase resilience of countries. And what it means to increase resilience? It means first to have early warning tools in place so that countries can be better prepared and to understand better the risks and uncertainties they will face. Second to have absorption capacity. So if the shock happens, I can absorb the shock.”
Another important mechanism that needs addressing is the use of subsidies by the governments to prop their agricultures.
According to the report, if governments repurpose its resources to support more food consumers as they do support producers, they will contribute to making healthy diets less costly and more affordable, sustainably and equitably for all.
The report also found that the gender gap in food insecurity – which had grown in 2020 under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic – widened even further from 2020 to 2021, driven largely by the widening differences in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Asia. In 2021, 31.9 percent of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure compared to 27.6 percent of men.
United Nations YouTube Channel
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