Egypt’s presence at Gaza talks highlights its ‘pivotal role’ in region, says analyst

RIYADH: Global food insecurity is much worse than previously thought. That's the conclusion of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report, published this week by the United Nations coalition, which found that efforts to tackle malnutrition have been severely impacted.

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a major factor in increasing hunger and food insecurity, as countries around the world fall significantly short of achieving the second UN Sustainable Development Goal of “Zero Hunger” by 2030.

As a major food importer, the Middle East and North Africa region is particularly vulnerable to climate-induced crop failures in source countries and protectionist tariffs and commodity price fluctuations.

“Climate change is a driver of food insecurity for the Middle East, with both global and local shocks,” David Laborde, director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' Department of Agricultural Food Economics and Policy, told Arab News. .

“Now, especially for the Middle East, I think the global angle is important because the Middle East is importing a lot of food. Even if you don't have a (climate) shock at home, if you don't have a drought or a flood at home — if it happens in Pakistan, If it happens in India, if it happens in Canada – the Middle East will happen.”

The State of Food Security and Nutrition Report in the World has been compiled annually since 1999 by FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Program, and the World Health Organization to monitor global progress toward ending hunger.

At a recent event at UN headquarters in New York, the report's authors stressed the urgent need for creative and equitable solutions to address economic scarcity to help nations facing severe hunger and malnutrition as a result of climate change.

In addition to climate change, the report notes that factors such as conflict and economic recession are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, affecting healthy diets, unhealthy food environments and inequality.

In fact, food insecurity and malnutrition are intensifying due to persistent food price inflation, which undermines global economic progress.

“There is also an indirect effect that we should not ignore – how climate shock interacts with conflict,” said Laborde.

For example, in North Africa, a negative climate shock could lead to more conflict, “because people start competing for natural resources, access to water, or even people who don't do anything else in your area,” he said.

“There are no jobs, they can't work in their fields, and so they can join the rebellion or other elements.”

By the end of 2021, G20 countries pledged to take $100 billion worth of unused special drawing rights held by central banks of high-income countries and distribute them to middle- and low-income countries.

Since then, however, this pledge amount has decreased by $13 billion, with countries in the worst economic conditions receiving less than 1 percent of this support.

Along with Australia, Canada, China, France and Japan, Saudi Arabia is among the countries that have exceeded their 20 percent commitment, while others have failed to reach 10 percent or stopped engaging altogether.

“Saudi Arabia is a very large state in the Middle East, so what they do is important, but they also have financial capacity that many other countries don't have,” Laborde said.

“It can be through their SDR. It can be through their sovereign wealth fund because it matters where you invest and how you invest to make the world more sustainable. So, I say, low and medium on food security and nutrition programs. Prioritizing investments in high-income countries may be important.

Although the prevalence of malnutrition in Saudi Arabia has declined in recent years, the report shows that stunting rates among children have actually increased by 1.4 percent over the past 10 years.

As the population continues to grow, rates of overweight, obesity and anemia among women have also increased. In this sense, it is not a lack of food but a lack of healthy eating habits.

“Saudi Arabia is a good example where I would say traditional hunger and food insecurity … are less and less of a problem, but other forms of malnutrition are really important,” Laborde said.

In 2023, around 2.33 billion people worldwide face moderate or severe food insecurity, and one in 11 people face hunger, made worse by various factors such as economic decline and climate change.

Affordability of a healthy diet is also a critical issue, particularly in low-income countries where more than 71 percent of the population cannot afford adequate nutrition.

In countries like Saudi Arabia where overeating is on the rise, Labor suggests that policy adaptation, along with proper investment in nutrition and health education, may be the way to go.

While the State continues to assist countries in crisis including Palestine, Sudan, and Yemen through its humanitarian arm KSrelief, these States continue to face dire situations. Gaza in particular has suffered the consequences of the war with Israel.

“Even before the conflict started, especially at the end of last year, the situation in Palestine was complex, both in terms of the agricultural system (and) population density. There was already a problem of malnutrition,” Laborde said.

“Now, something that is true everywhere, in Sudan, in Yemen, in Palestine, when you start adding conflicts and military operations, the population suffers a lot because you can actually destroy production. You destroy access to water. But blocking the trucks or ships that bring food People can't even go to the grocery store.”

While Palestine and Sudan are extreme cases, there are still approximately 733 million people facing hunger worldwide, a continuation of the high levels seen over the past three years.

“On the ground, we work with the World Food Program (and) other organizations to deliver food to people in need in Palestine,” Laborde said of FAO's work. “Before and after the conflict, we will also work on rebuilding the things that need to be rebuilt. But without peace, there are limited things we can do.

FAO helps food-insecure countries develop production systems by bringing better seeds, animals, technologies, and irrigation solutions, as well as providing veterinary services and working to protect livestock from pests and diseases by creating incentives for countries to adopt better policies.

The report's projections for 2030 suggest that around 582 million people will suffer from chronic malnutrition, half of them in Africa. This mirrored the level observed in 2015 when the SDGs were adopted, indicating a plateau in progress.

Based on this year's theme of “Financing to End Hunger, Food Insecurity and All Forms of Malnutrition”, the report emphasizes the need to create a better system of financial distribution.

“In 2022, there were a lot of headlines about global hunger, but today, the number and the number of hungry people have not disappeared while it has more or less decreased,” Laborde said, referring to the damaging effects of the Ukraine war. on world food prices.

“We have to say that we are not fulfilling the promises made by the policy makers. Today the world produces enough food, so it's a lot about how we distribute it, how we give access to it. It's a man-made problem, so it has to be a man-made solution.”