Hunger Dilemma – Addressing Food Shortage and Reversing COVID-19 Effects

In a recently released report by the UN – The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World – almost a third of the world population did not have enough food to eat in 2020.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers rose drastically with up to 811 million people being undernourished, 282 million-plus found in Africa.

The estimated prevalence of undernourishment in Africa stood at 21 percent of the population, which is more than double that of any other region.

The stats show a worrying trend across the globe. It indicates that not enough food was being produced to feed everyone and the crisis was a failure in the food system.

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In many parts of the world, the pandemic triggered brutal recessions and jeopardized access to food. But even before the pandemic, hunger was spreading and the progress on malnutrition lagged.

This was even more so in nations affected by conflict, climate extremes or other economic downturns, or battling high inequality – all of which the report identifies as major drivers of food insecurity, which in turn interact.

According to the UN report, the Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger by 2030) will be missed by a margin of nearly 660 million people. Of these 660 million, some 30 million may be linked to the pandemic’s lasting effects.

The question is, what can be done to help salvage the grim situation?

For one, transforming food systems is essential to achieving food security, improving nutrition, and putting healthy diets within reach of all.

On top of that, there is a need for a coherent set of policy and investment portfolios to counteract the hunger and malnutrition drivers, as noted by the UN.

Other recommendations made include:

• Integrate humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding policies in conflict areas – for example, through social protection measures to prevent families from selling meager assets in exchange for food.
• For example, scale-up climate resilience across food systems offers smallholder farmers wide access to climate risk insurance and forecast-based financing.
• Strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable to economic adversity – for example, through in-kind or cash support programs to lessen the impact of pandemic-style shocks or food price volatility.
• Intervene along supply chains to lower the cost of nutritious foods – for example, by encouraging planting biofortified crops or making it easier for fruit and vegetable growers to access markets.
• Tackle poverty and structural inequalities – for example, by boosting food value chains in poor communities through technology transfers and certification programs.
• Strengthen food environments and changing consumer behavior – for example, by eliminating industrial trans fats and reducing the salt and sugar content in the food supply or protecting children from the negative impact of food marketing.

The UN also calls for an “enabling environment of governance mechanisms and institutions” to make transformation possible. It enjoins policymakers to consult widely; empower women and youth, and expand the availability of data and new technologies.

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Above all, the world must act now – or watch the drivers of hunger and malnutrition recur with growing intensity in coming years, long after the shock of the pandemic has passed.