The UN's goal of eradicating hunger by 2030 is getting further and further away, warns the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Wednesday July 6, painting a "
gloomy picture
of global food security in 2021, even before the start of the war in Ukraine.
"
Between 702 and 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021
", or about 9.8% of the world's population, indicate in a joint report FAO, the International Fund for the Development of Agriculture (IFAD) , Unicef, the World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“A number similar to 2015”
This is 46 million more than in 2020, and 150 million more than in 2019, two years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has permanently worsened hunger in the world.
According to the FAO, "
the world is moving away from its goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030
", as the UN aimed for with its sustainable development goal SDG- 2 “
Zero Hunger
”.
670 million humans are still expected to suffer from it by the end of the decade, "
a similar number to 2015
", when this target was set by the international community.
If drastic measures are not taken by then, "
all our efforts will simply have served to curb the effects of the major crises that we have experienced
", regrets the president of IFAD, Gilbert Houngbo, in an interview with AFP.
The five international organizations are concerned about an “
intensification of the main drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition: conflicts, extreme climatic events and economic shocks
”.
Call for “more incentive measures”
"
The question is not whether these hardships will continue to occur
", they conclude, "
but how to take bolder measures to build resilience against future shocks
", such as the war in Ukraine, disrupting supply chains and driving up prices.
"
One of the challenges is development aid, even if we know very well that it alone cannot meet
" the needs, notes Gilbert Houngbo.
The President of IFAD calls on public authorities to take “
more incentive measures
” in order to encourage the private sector to support innovation and the transformation of agricultural systems.
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More broadly, 2.3 billion people suffered from severe or moderate food insecurity at some point in 2021, meaning they did not have access to adequate food or had difficulty feeding themselves during certain periods.
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