Achieving the Zero Hunger goal globally faces challenges

The "State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" report jointly released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other agencies shows that the number of hungry people in the world has increased year by year in recent years, and the number of people facing food insecurity in the world has reached 821.6 million as of 2018. Achieving the Zero Hunger goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is facing enormous challenges, and the international community needs to strengthen cooperation to address this grim situation.

This year's report introduces for the first time a new monitoring indicator of "moderate or severe food insecurity". The report estimates that more than 2 billion people worldwide are in this situation, the vast majority of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. "After nearly 10 years of sustained decline, the number of hungry people worldwide has seen a surge in the past three years. The global stagnation and regression in addressing issues such as food security is a clear warning that we must do more quickly if we are to achieve the Zero Hunger Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. FAO Director-General Da Silva said in an interview with this reporter.

The total number of people facing the food crisis in the past three years has exceeded 100 million, and the number of countries and regions affected is expanding

According to the FAO report, although the proportion of the global hungry population in the total population has continued to decline over the past few decades, in terms of absolute numbers, the number of hungry people in the world reached 821.6 million in 2018, which has increased continuously in the past three years.

The situation in Africa is most worrisome from a regional perspective. Hunger levels rose in Africa in 2018 and malnutrition tended to be severe. Last year, West Africa and the Sahel region experienced severe drought, with malnutrition rates at their worst levels since 2012, nearly 6 million people facing famine and 1.6 million children at risk of severe malnutrition.

Another UN Global Food Crisis Report 2019 also shows that a total of 29 million people faced food insecurity in 2018 due to climate change and natural disasters, the vast majority of whom lived in Africa. Economic fluctuations have caused more than 10 million hungry people in countries such as Burundi, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the proportion of hungry people is also slowly rising, but remains below 7 per cent; Efforts to eradicate hunger in South Asia have made significant progress over the past five years, but nearly 15 per cent of the population is still food insecure and the number of malnourished people is the highest in the world.

This year's report introduces for the first time a new monitoring indicator of "moderate or severe food insecurity", which specifically refers to people who are "not necessarily hungry, but are at serious risk of malnutrition and poor health", and introduce this indicator to make a broader assessment of hunger and food insecurity. The report estimates that more than 2 billion people worldwide are in this situation, the vast majority of whom live in low- and middle-income countries.

According to the United Nations, the total number of people facing the food crisis has remained above 100 million in the past three years, and the number of countries and regions affected is expanding. Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan and northern Nigeria are expected to experience some of the world's worst food crises in 2019, with large numbers of people in these countries experiencing food emergencies, leading to growing malnutrition or increased deaths.

Climate change, regional conflicts and slowing economic development are important factors contributing to the rise in global hunger

Da Silva told this reporter that the number of hungry people in the world has risen, which is largely affected by three major factors such as climate change, regional conflicts and slowing economic development.

Some experts pointed out that among these three factors, the conflict factor has the largest proportion, with nearly 74 million people in 21 countries and regions falling into hunger in 2018 due to conflict or security instability.

On the other hand, global anomalies have resulted in adverse climatic conditions such as higher temperatures and lower rainfall, which have overwhelmed many developing countries that are highly dependent on agricultural and livestock development. The annual report predicts that climate change will increase the number of food-insecure people globally by 71 million by 2050, more than half of which will come from sub-Saharan Africa. Experts noted that Africa is one of the regions with the greatest and most complex climate impacts on production and livelihoods, with 70 to 80 per cent of rural African population having livelihood systems dominated by dryland cultivation and livestock systems, and high dependence on dryland agriculture makes rural populations more vulnerable.

This year's report also focuses on economic volatility. Hunger has been on the rise in some countries with slowing or shrinking economies, with more than 96 million people living in countries severely affected by rising unemployment, currency depreciation and high food prices in 33 countries and territories suffering from severe food insecurity in 2018, the data show. Recessions can lead to higher unemployment, lower incomes for residents and, in many cases, exacerbate and prolong food crises.

Global efforts should be made to reduce economic vulnerability and to promote the orderly eradication of hunger and malnutrition

Hollerman, one of the authors of the report and a senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said in an interview with this reporter that the current realization of the "zero hunger" goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is facing great challenges, and the international community should strengthen cooperation to cope with this grim situation.

The World Food Programme recently called on its website that "ending hunger is when conflict is stopped". The organization is currently providing food aid to conflict areas, needing $6.8 billion to feed more than 80 million people, but the current funding gap is not small.

"We cannot limit ourselves to eliminating the superficial symptoms of hunger and malnutrition, but we need to cut to the source and treat both the symptoms and the root causes. This includes addressing extreme poverty, lack of social protection policies and insufficient investment in agriculture. Da Silva told reporters that we must provide safety and food for all, and that accelerating rural development will be key to our achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Hollerman said that governments, the private sector and social organizations need to strengthen cooperation, and policies need to focus on poor people and inclusive transformation, and improve coping capacity to end hunger and malnutrition. For example, countries need to implement social security schemes, reduce unemployment and introduce policies to reduce excessive fluctuations in food prices.

The United Nations has called for global efforts to reduce economic vulnerability and promote an orderly end to hunger and malnutrition. The report emphasizes economic and social policies to mitigate the adverse impact of cyclical downturns on food security and ensure that the "Zero Hunger" target of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is met.

(Rome, Johannesburg)