The United Nations’ State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report 2018 highlighted the damaging impact of climate change on global agriculture and its role in escalating global hunger. The report was a collaborative effort by several UN bodies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The report primarily aims to track progression towards Sustainable Development Goal 2-Zero Hunger.
Key Objectives of the Report
The report’s objective is to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. This goal entails ending hunger, promoting overall food security, and eradicating all forms of malnutrition. The 2017 report emphasized the role of conflicts, climate changes, and economic downturns in the global increase in hunger. However, the 2018 report shifted focus to the role of climate variability and extreme weather conditions in global food security trends.
Main Findings of the Report
In 2017, about 800 million people, or one in every nine individuals, were malnourished. This trend thwarts the UN’s aspiration to eradicate world hunger by 2030. Evidence suggests a steady rise in world hunger, with data indicating that the number of people suffering from hunger has been increasing over the past three years, mirroring levels seen a decade ago.
Malnutrition, Undernourishment, and Obesity Trends
Progress addressing multiple forms of malnutrition such as child stunting and adult obesity was limited in 2017, putting millions of people at health risks. Evidently, South America and most regions in Africa have seen worsening conditions, while the undernourishment trend in Asia seems to be decelerating significantly.
Impact of Climate Variability
Changes in climate, marked by variable rainfall patterns and extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, are key drivers of increased hunger. These climatic changes impact the production of major crops including wheat, rice, and maize, particularly in tropical and temperate regions. It’s projected that these effects will intensify with escalating temperatures. Countries highly exposed to climatic extremes tend to have more undernourished individuals.
Agriculture and Food Production
Late or early onset of rainy seasons and uneven distribution of rainfall within a season affect food production. Other impacts include food price increases and poor farmers’ income losses. Regions like Africa and Asia account for approximately 40% and 55% of all stunted children, respectively. While Africa has seen an uptick in the number of stunted children, Asia has witnessed a considerable relative decrease in stunting prevalence.
Obesity and Undernutrition
Poor access to food, especially healthy food, contributes to both undernutrition and overweight tendencies, leading to low birth weight and childhood stunting. It is also associated with anaemia in women of reproductive age and obesity among women in upper-middle- and high-income countries.
Recommendations and Appeals in the Report
The report strongly urges the acceleration and scaling up of actions to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity in the face of shifting climate variability and increasing extremes. Special focus should be given to the most vulnerable groups such as infants, children under five, school-aged children, adolescent girls, and women. Policies must promote a sustainable shift towards nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems. Further, integration of global policy platforms, like climate change, development, and disaster risk reduction, is necessary to ensure coherent objectives across sectors such as environment, food, agriculture, and health.