1.6K Views 3 years ago

Unpacking The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 Report

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report (SOFI) is produced as a joint effort between several United Nations agencies. These include the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Program (WFP). Each year, the SOFI report states the number of people facing hunger and food insecurity around the world. The FAO utilizes data collected through various statistical indicators. Additionally, it reports on prevailing trends and lays out potential strategies to combat hunger and malnutrition. One of the United Nations’ stated goals is to end hunger in all its forms by 2030. The SOFI report provides metrics related to that goal.

The SOFI 2023 report highlights the continued impacts the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine have had on hunger and food security worldwide. Additionally, the report highlights the increasing trend of urbanization. This trend is changing the way food is grown and distributed. According to the SOFI 2023 Report, urbanization trends are changing not only the agrifood systems, but also the availability of healthy food across urban, rural, and in-between spaces. Agrifood is a term that is defined as relating to the production of food by farming for commercial purposes.

Key Messages from the Report:

(The key messages below are drawn directly from the key messages section of the report, which highlights important takeaways from the report as a whole. They have been restated for clarity and brevity.)

Estimates show that between 691 and 783 million people worldwide experienced hunger in 2022.
Global hunger is still far above pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, 9.2 percent of the world’s population was affected by hunger as defined by the report. This is a 1.3 percent increase from the 7.9 percent of the global population that was affected by hunger in 2019. This represents an estimated additional 122 million people who are facing hunger post-pandemic.
Hunger is still rising in Western Asia, all subregions of Africa, and the Caribbean. However, hunger has been reduced in Latin America and Asia.
The UN’s goal of eradicating hunger by 2030 has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Projections currently show that 600 million people will still face undernourishment in 2030 if current trends continue. Estimates show that this is 119 million more than had the pandemic and the war in Ukraine not occurred.
Moderate and severe food insecurity has remained stable for the second year in a row. This follows a marked increase between 2019 and 2020. Nearly 30 percent of the global population was moderately or severely food insecure in 2022 according to the report.
Moderate and severe food insecurity is most severe in rural areas. Additionally, although the gap between genders has narrowed, women are still more likely than men to experience food insecurity.
A healthy diet remains unaffordable for a large percentage of the world’s population.
Large numbers of children under five years old continue to face stunting, wasting, and overweight. 22.3 percent of children under five were stunted, 6.8 percent were wasted, and 5.6 were overweight. Stunting and wasting were more prevalent amongst children in rural areas, while overweight was slightly more common in urban areas than in rural areas.
Progress continues to be made on goals regarding exclusive breastfeeding, and reducing stunting and wasting among children under five. However, none of these are on target to meet the 2030 goal.
Trends regarding increased urbanization are continuing. It is estimated that by 2050, nearly seven out of every ten people will live in urban environments. Increasing urbanization is driving agrifood systems changes and provides both new challenges and opportunities to address health, hunger, and malnutrition.
Challenges occurring with urbanization are wide-ranging and include:
- Increased access to processed foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt may contribute to malnutrition.
- Low availability or prohibitive cost of fresh foods including fruits and vegetables.
- Supply chains that exclude small farmers
- Loss of land and natural habitat due to urbanization
Potential opportunities associated with increased urbanization include:
- Varied and increased employment opportunities that have the potential for higher income.
- Increasing variation in the types of nutritious foods available.
- Access to services and agricultural inputs for farmers.
Changes in supply and demand for foodstuffs are driving a diet transition across both urban and rural areas. New evidence from 11 African countries suggests that purchased foods make up a higher percentage of rural households’ food consumption than previously thought.
The affordability of a healthy diet is an issue of particular concern, especially considering the evidence that purchased food makes up a higher percentage of rural and semi-rural communities’ diets than previously thought.
Evidence from the 11 African countries studies shows that food insecurity is an issue across the rural-urban continuum.
Policy approaches and legislation that utilizes the increasing connectivity across the rural-urban spectrum are essential to address the affordability of healthy diets, food insecurity, and malnutrition.
Close connections between rural and urban communities can be leveraged to create systems that promote greater economic development and access to healthy foods. These connections can be fostered through investments and public works that Support the role of small to medium-sized enterprises in agrifood systems.
More public investment and development need to be carried out regarding healthy food environments and accessibility to nutritious foods.
Policies should be designed and implemented that go beyond the “traditional top-down approach.” Policies regarding agrifoods systems should be created to ensure the engagement of agrifoods systems stakeholders across all levels.

Response to the 2023 SOFI Report

The SOFI report is an evidence-based assessment of food insecurity numbers around the world. It looks at how key drivers affect global hunger. Additionally, it measures these numbers against the UN’s goal of eradicating hunger by 2023. Unfortunately, recent reports have proved disheartening.

The European Food Banks Federation called the 2023 report’s findings “sobering: in terms of hunger, the world made no significant progress last year. 735 million people faced undernourishment in 2023, which amounts to 122 million more than in 2019, before the pandemic. Worldwide, roughly 29% of children under five suffered from wasting or stunting” in a piece published to their webpage.

A statement from Slow Food International, a grassroots organization working to ensure worldwide access to “good, clean, and fair food,” addressed the report’s findings that access to healthy food has decreased globally. Slow Food’s president said in response to the report that “Agroecology is the solution to ensure sustainable food systems and to guarantee healthy food and diets for all.” Agroecology is a type of sustainable farming that works in harmony with nature. It is recognized as a strategy to combat Climate change. This type of farming encourages the inclusion of small farmers in the supply change, which is something the SOFI 2023 report advocates for. Slow Foods supports an agroecological approach to food systems and believes that the adoption of this approach will preserve biodiversity, feed local communities, and help to subvert hunger in the global South.

International aid group, Mercy Corp, has also responded to the report. They issued a warning that “the global food crisis is spiraling out of control in hunger hotspots grappling with conflict, Climate change, inflation, shortages, and unaffordable food prices.” The group highlights the importance of the war in Ukraine on food prices and the devastating impact it has had on food security around the world.

Sign this petition to Tell the U.S. Congress to Take Action NOW to Fight Global Hunger!

Being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content.Click here to Support Us