The goal of a world without hunger by 2030, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, is getting further away. Under the question mark. multiplication of conflicts, economic difficulties or even climate crisis. According to UN agencies, in 2023 world hunger has not decreased and continues to concern 733 million people as of 2022. That’s more than 9% of the world’s population, equivalent to one in ten people.
The situation is different. Number of people who don’t eat enough grew in Africa. It has stabilized in Asia and declined in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (FIDA), UNICEF, and the World Food Program. WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Post-Covid, the situation is getting worse
The situation has worsened significantly with Covid in 2020 and 2021. The proportion of the population that does not have enough calories to sustain a normal life has remained at the same level since then.
About 2.3 billion people are considered moderately or severely food insecure, meaning they have to skip meals from time to time. And more than a third of the world’s population cannot afford healthy food, including 72% of the poorest countries.
Geopolitical tensions persist “With conflicts that are not going away,” while “climate change is starting to hit us on all continents,” explained FAO economist David Laborde to AFP, who lamented the lack of funds to fight hunger. A report by UN agencies, released on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil, suggests fixing this through major reform of food security and nutrition financing.
General battle plan.
This review first includes a common definition so that all stakeholders meet the same standards. Depending on the various current estimates, this would theoretically be necessary $176 billion to $3,975 billion to end hunger by 2030. David Laborde explains that food and nutrition security “is not just about handing out bags of rice in emergencies.”
It includes both assistance to small-scale agriculture and access to energy in rural areas that can provide electricity for an irrigation system. Donors, international agencies, NGOs and foundations also need to coordinate better, the report advises, lamenting that the current system is “highly fragmented”, “lacks consensus on priorities” and “is characterized by a proliferation of actors implementing small, short-term projects . .
“There is no time to lose because the cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of the actions this report calls for,” the document concludes. Brazilian President Lula confirmed this ambition this Wednesday. On the occasion of the G20 “The fight against inequalities, hunger and poverty cannot be led by one country. It must be jointly implemented by countries that are ready to take on this historic responsibility.”