State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World

State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World
Title	State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World
Publisher	Food and Agriculture Organization
Year	2024
Language	English

State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World

The annual report synthesizes evidence on hunger, malnutrition, and dietary quality using global datasets and multilateral assessments. It informs international deliberations among United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization, World Food Programme, and International Fund for Agricultural Development stakeholders and guides targets under the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement climate commitments.

Overview and Key Findings

The report documents prevalence and trends for undernourishment, wasting, stunting, overweight, and micronutrient deficiencies drawing on inputs from World Bank, United Nations Children's Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Monetary Fund, and regional entities like the African Union. It highlights rising numbers of food-insecure people in contexts affected by Syrian civil war, War in Ukraine, Sahel crisis, Venezuelan refugee crisis, and climate shocks linked to events such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole. Key findings are used by policymakers at forums such as the United Nations General Assembly, G20 summit, and World Economic Forum.

Global Trends in Food Security and Nutrition

Global indicators show heterogeneous trajectories reported by institutions including Global Nutrition Report, Lancet, International Food Policy Research Institute, Center for Global Development, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Trends include partial recovery from acute food crises noted after interventions by World Food Programme and European Union humanitarian aid, contrasted with persistent stagnation in regions affected by protracted conflict like Yemen and South Sudan. The report cross-references datasets from FAOSTAT, Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, Eurostat, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to map undernutrition and obesity patterns alongside commodity price signals from Chicago Board of Trade and trade disruptions traced to Suez Canal obstruction precedents.

Regional and Country-Level Patterns

Regional analysis disaggregates results for Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and North America. Country case studies include situations in Ethiopia, India, Brazil, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Mexico, Indonesia, Philippines, Afghanistan, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The report examines urban-rural differentials using national surveys from United States Department of Agriculture studies and country policy reviews by Ministry of Agriculture (India), Ministry of Health (Brazil), and National Bureau of Statistics (China).

Drivers and Risk Factors

Drivers synthesized in the report draw upon analyses by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Meteorological Organization, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, International Labour Organization, and World Trade Organization. Key risk factors include armed conflict linked to actors such as Islamic State, geopolitical tensions exemplified by the Crimean crisis, climate extremes like the 2015–2016 El Niño, supply-chain shocks traced to disruptions in Red Sea shipping lanes, and economic shocks monitored by European Central Bank and Federal Reserve System. The analysis integrates evidence on food price inflation from International Coffee Organization and World Trade Organization trade policy impacts, as well as demographic influences reported by the United Nations Population Division.

Policy Responses and Interventions

Recommended interventions draw on programmatic evidence from Scaling Up Nutrition, COVAX Facility-era logistics lessons, School Feeding Programmes models in Japan and Brazil, and social protection schemes like Productive Safety Net Programme (Ethiopia), Conditional Cash Transfer programs exemplified by Progresa/Oportunidades in Mexico, and unconditional cash pilot studies overseen by GiveDirectly. Agricultural resilience strategies reference research by International Rice Research Institute, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, and national extension efforts such as Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Nutrition-specific actions align with guidelines from World Health Organization and fortification experiences in United Kingdom, South Africa, and Thailand.

Monitoring, Measurement, and Data Gaps

The report critiques data systems and calls for harmonization across platforms like FAOSTAT, Global Nutrition Cluster, United Nations Statistics Division, and national statistical offices including Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística and National Statistical Office (Philippines). It notes coverage gaps in fragile settings such as Somalia and Libya, limited micronutrient surveillance in small island developing states like Fiji, and challenges integrating satellite-based indicators from Copernicus Programme and Landsat with household survey feeds. Innovations cited include use of machine learning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology research groups, mobile-survey pilots by GSMA, and data partnerships with Bloomberg, while urging adherence to standards promoted by the International Organization for Standardization and Committee on World Food Security.

Category:Food security Category:Nutrition