Goal 2 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals was a call to action to achieve or make significant strides towards Zero Hunger by 2030. However, the stark reality is that the world now finds itself in a worse situation and grimmer predicament than when this call to action was first sounded. The goal now remains blurred and distant as global progress against hunger is almost at a standstill since 2015.
Today, the key global risks confronting us are an unhealthy combination of old and new threats that roll back decades of hard-won progress and imperil future development. These include escalating climate crises and the failure of climate action, social unrest, geopolitical tensions, inflationary trends, trade wars, and capital flight from emerging markets, all of which have collectively contributed to food insecurity, supply chain disruptions, strained healthcare systems, unsustainable levels of national debt, low global investment and growth, de-globalization and, regrettably to a decline in human development. The Global Risk Report 2023 ranks ‘Cost-of-living crisis’ as the most severe global risk over the next two years, peaking in the short term.[1] ‘Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse’ is viewed as among the fastest deteriorating global risks over the next decade. The report highlights additional threats such as ‘Geo-economic confrontation’, and ‘Erosion of social cohesion’ and ‘Societal polarization’, alongside two new entrants to the top rankings: ‘Widespread cybercrime and cyber insecurity’ and ‘Large-scale involuntary migration’.
The cumulative impact of these threats forebodes a challenging and difficult future to arrest the intergenerational cycle of poverty and malnutrition and to build resilience and adaptive capacity to economic and climate induced shocks.
The statistics provide alarming reading and are a cause for serious concern. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2023[2] confirms that global hunger is still far above pre-pandemic levels. It estimates that between 690 and 783 million people in the world faced hunger in 2022 – a figure that is 122 million more than before the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that nearly one in ten people sleep hungry each night. The Global Hunger Index 2023 corroborates that the prevalence of undernourishment, one of the key indicators used in the calculation of Global Hunger Index (GHI) scores, has been rising and the number of undernourished people has increased.[3] It is projected that over 600 million will be chronically undernourished in 2030. The GHI scores indicate that 43 countries (mostly covering Central Africa from east to west and almost all of South Asia), have alarming and serious levels of hunger.
Poverty and hunger disproportionately impact women and children. Globally, 40% of all children aged 6-59 months and nearly half a billion women 15-49 years of age are affected by anaemia primarily on account of iron deficiency in their diets. Significant number of pregnant and lactating women are undernourished and this intensifies the health challenges faced by their children. In 2022, an estimated 148.1 million children under five years of age (22.3 percent) were stunted, 45 million (6.8 percent) were wasted, and 37 million (5.6 percent) were battling overweight issues. It is caused by inadequate nutrition and recurrent infections during the first 1,000 days from conception to a child’s second birthday. Stunting is irreversible and casts a dark shadow over a child’s future as it hinders cognitive and physical growth and amplifies the risk of diseases such as diabetes. The prevalence of stunting and wasting was higher in rural areas, while urban areas had a higher incidence of overweight issues. Stunting denies children their fundamental right to grow, thrive, and build prosperous futures.
The implications extend beyond individual lives; they reach into the very fabric of economies developing and underdeveloped economies cannot afford to have nearly a third of their future workforce to be poorly qualified, physically challenged, and less efficient. A physically depleted workforce would find it very difficult to compete in a demanding labour market.
Access, availability, adequacy and affordability of food and, more importantly, nutritious food remains a major challenge. We are confronted with a myriad of challenges that include easy availability of cheaper pre-prepared and fast foods that contain energy-dense fats, sugars and salt contributing to the problem of malnutrition. Add to that the insufficient access to vegetables and fruits required for daily healthy diets, the marginalization of small farm holders, that constitute the vast majority of farmers, from well-established market-based value chains and the increasing loss of arable land to urban expansion and extreme climate impacts – drought and flood. The disruption of global and local supply chains has added another dimension. It has brought food shortages to the fore and has constrained food producing nations to reduce exports thus posing an evolving threat that will push more people into poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2023 report estimates that more than 3.1 billion people or 42% of the global population were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021 – an increase of 131 million people compared to 2019 prior to the COVID pandemic. The Cost of a Healthy Diet increased by nearly 9% in Asia and 8% in Latin America and the Caribbean between 2019 and 2021. Globally cereal, energy and fertilizer prices are at historic highs and recent geopolitical events and the threat of El Nino portent that there will be little respite from this inflationary trend. It is a complex battlefield that demands attention at more than one frontline to ensure a healthier and more sustainable future for all.
The New York Times reported that 60 million children received “zero-dose” of vaccinations and have aged out of routine immunization programs as a consequence of the disruption caused by the pandemic.[4] Another 85 million are under immunized as they received only part of the prescribed course thus making them vulnerable to disease and a lifetime of poor health. This year, child deaths from diseases like measles have nearly doubled from 2022.
Conflict situations in the Sub-Saharan and Central Africa and more recently in Gaza have led to displacement of people making it difficult for international humanitarian and aid agencies to deliver food to starving communities.
Several countries have taken decisive action through social protection and food distribution schemes to ameliorate hunger, provide sustenance and ensure a basic level of nutrition for their vulnerable populations. India, currently ranking 111 out of 125 countries on the GHI, implemented the Public Distribution System (PDS), as early as 1947, to provide food and non-food items such as wheat, rice, sugar and essential fuels like kerosene at subsidized prices through a network of fair price shops. During the initial six decades of its operation the number of poor barely declined primarily due to distribution inefficiencies, corrupt practices, ineffective governance, and low and stagnating incomes leading to reduced purchasing power. Ambiguities in targeting criteria and non-inclusion of some of the poor exacerbated these challenges until the introduction of the digital Aadhar Card by the Unique Identification Number Authority of India partially addressed these issues.
The passage of the National Food Security Act in 2013 (also known as the Right to Food Act), signaled a paradigm shift in addressing food security by adopting a rights-based approach. Notably, it aims to provide subsidized food grains to nearly 67% of India’s vast population of 1.4 billion. The revised PDS scheme together with the Mid Day Meal and the Integrated Child Development Services programs seeks to significantly reduce food insecurity among vulnerable communities. Amid the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic, the government took proactive measures announcing the distribution of free grains to over 813 million eligible households. The program has now been extended for a further period of 5 years until 2029 demonstrating a sustained commitment to alleviating food insecurity and enhancing the well-being of the nation’s most vulnerable populations.
Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, first introduced in 2003, is a conditional cash transfer program to alleviate poverty, improve living conditions, health, and education for socioeconomically vulnerable populations. The program pays a monthly minimum per family to cover the purchase of basic food items and adds further amounts for each child aged below 18 years and for pregnant women. Families must make certain that children attend school and get timely vaccinations; pregnant women are required to undergo prenatal medical care and ensure newborns receive regular pediatric consultation. The amounts are usually provided to a female head of the household. The World Bank estimates that 94% of the funds reach the poorest 40% of the population who use the money to buy food, school supplies and begin small income generating ventures. The program has been successful in reducing extreme poverty and inequality and improving human capital development through education. Bolsa Familia’s success has led to its adaptation and replication in several countries with varying degrees of success including Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, and Turkey.
In 2002, Thailand rolled out the Universal Health Coverage scheme providing all Thai citizens with free of cost essential preventive, curative and palliative health services. The scheme is a tax funded comprehensive health care program that has reduced infant mortality, increased life expectancy, lessened the burden of expenditure on ill health and strengthened the health system. While the growing budget of the scheme may make it difficult to sustain the model in the future, it remains an integral part of the social protection floor as it covers 99.95% of the population.
The Productive Safety Net Program of Ethiopia was introduced as a ‘food for work’ program by providing cash support to able bodied labor by engaging them in public works projects. Households without labor capacity also receive unconditional cash transfer for a year. The program has been successful in replacing emergency assistance in food insecure areas with regular income linked to livelihood options and health and nutrition services. The public works projects usually relate to increasing resilience to climate change and strengthening disaster risk management.
Vietnam’s Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction program is a community-based initiative involving agricultural extension, nutrition education, and microfinance, empowering communities to achieve food security and improve dietary diversity. The program has been successful in reducing poverty levels though much needs to be done to lower the rates of stunting and malnutrition.
Common reasons for unsuccessful implementation of food distribution schemes in some countries has been corruption, inefficiencies, and politicization (Venezuela’s Local Committees for Supply and Production), mismanagement and diversion of resources away from food distribution (North Korea’s Public Distribution System) land seizures and agricultural production disruption leading to economic collapse and food shortages (Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Land Reform Program). Some social protection programs such as the Philippines 4Ps and Sri Lanka’s Samurdhi continue to provide relief and benefits to some of the vulnerable and poor households but require urgent reform and corrective action to ensure correct targeting, implement an exit strategy and reduce administrative cost and inefficiencies.
The pandemic, economic instability and recessionary trends, trade and logistical disruptions, climate change, conflict and geopolitical tensions have all contributed to food inflation, soaring agricultural input costs and widening inequalities. There is increased migration activity as people risk life and limb in the hope of finding a life without poverty, hunger, conflict or instability.
The recently concluded COP28 in Dubai focused on food insecurity with the aim of eliminating hunger and all forms of malnutrition without exceeding the temperature rise of 1.5°C by building a resilient food system that is adaptable to climate change impacts. It also committed to several actions by member countries to scale up adaptation measures to reduce the vulnerability of fisherfolk, farmers and food producers to climate change in addition to providing support to food insecure and nutritionally deficient vulnerable populations.
The World Food Programme provides 6 Zero Hunger solutions that can mitigate food insecurity and transform agriculture and food systems.[5] These are:
- Break the cycle of conflict and hunger by ensuring people in conflict affected areas will not have food weaponized against them;
- Increase sustainability and build resilience to climate change stresses and shocks;
- Address poverty and inequality through social safety nets through cash assistance and infrastructure to financially empower communities;
- Help rural farmers connect to markets;
- Reduce food waste and food loss through better storage, transportation and distribution management; and
- Eliminate malnutrition in mothers and children by providing nutritional diets.
There is an imperative need to take corrective and remedial actions to reverse the current levels of malnutrition and food insecurity as these have significant human and socio-economic implications. As we confront this complex tapestry of challenges, urgent and committed efforts are required to achieving Zero Hunger and to address the interconnected risks that jeopardize our collective progress. The time to act is now, as we stand at the crossroads of a future that demands our immediate attention and decisive action to reverse the current tide of malnutrition and food insecurity. Failure to address this crisis head-on not only threatens individual lives but carries profound human and socio-economic ramifications that resonate far beyond the confines of the present moment.
References
[1] World Economic Forum. Global Risks Report 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2023.pdf
[2] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2023. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023. Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc3017en
[3] GHI scores are based on the values of 4 component indicators: undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality. 2023 Global Hunger Index: The Power of Youth in Shaping Food Systems. https://www.globalhungerindex.org/pdf/en/2023.pdf
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/25/health/vaccines-children-zero-dose.html
[5] https://www.wfpusa.org/articles/how-to-end-world-hunger-6-zero-hunger-solutions/
