INTRODUCTION

Zero Hunger is a global initiative and one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2), aimed at ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture by 2030. This ambitious goal addresses the fundamental human right to adequate food and aims to eliminate all forms of malnutrition while supporting sustainable food systems that can withstand climate change and economic shocks. 

Global Perspective

 Global progress on reducing hunger has stalled and even reversed.

• Food Insecurity: Nearly 30% of the world's population faces food insecurity, meaning they lack consistent access to enough nutritious food.

• Unaffordable Healthy Diets: An even larger portion, 42%, cannot afford a healthy diet.

• Zero Hunger Goal Stalled: The UN's goal of "zero hunger" by 2030 seems further away than ever.

• The number of people facing hunger is expected to rise to around 600 million by 2030.

• Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2023:

• Hunger Statistics: The report estimates that between 691 million and 783 million people globally suffered from hunger in 2022.

• Pandemic Impact: While the number of people experiencing hunger didn't significantly increase during the initial years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021), it remains significantly higher compared to pre-pandemic levels (2019).

India Perspective

• Study in JAMA Network Open journal: A peer-reviewed study published in the medical journal found that 19.3% of children aged 6 months to 23 months in India are classified as "zero food" children. It ranked India third globally for this issue better than only Guinea (21.8 per cent) and Mali (20.5 per cent).

• Study in eClinical Medicine (part of Lancet Discovery Science): Published in 2023, this study specifically focused on Uttar Pradesh and found that it has the highest percentage (28.4%) of "zero food" children in India.

• Significant Improvement: A substantial decrease in poverty levels, with the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MDPI) by NITI Aayog suggesting 135 million lifted out of poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21. The UNDP report (2005-2021) estimates an even larger reduction of 415 million. This is considered a significant accomplishment.

Reasons

• Price Increases: Rising food and energy prices make it difficult for people, especially those with limited income, to afford enough nutritious food.

• Conflict and Instability: Wars and civil unrest disrupt food production, distribution, and access, leading to hunger in affected areas.

• Extreme Weather Events: Droughts, floods, and other weather disturbances can devastate crops and livelihoods, causing food shortages.

• Inequality: Unequal distribution of resources and wealth means some populations are more vulnerable to hunger even when food is available.

• Unsustainable Food System: The fundamental lack of resilience in the global food system, making it vulnerable to shocks.

• Criticism of Corporate Food Systems: The concerns about corporate-controlled food supply chains.

• Vulnerability: They are more susceptible to disruptions in trade, climate impacts, and market fluctuations.

• Small Producer Impact: These corporate systems may be undermining the livelihoods of small-scale food producers.

• Policy and Investment Barriers: The trade and investment policies, along with agricultural subsidies, as factors that can penalise local food markets. These policies might favour large-scale industrial agriculture.

• Lack of Infrastructure: Local food systems often lack adequate infrastructure, such as sanitation facilities and storage solutions. This can limit their efficiency and effectiveness.

• Causes of Zero-Food Children: Experts attribute this issue to a combination of factors:

• Poverty and Marginalisation: Underprivileged families often lack resources to provide proper nutrition.

• Rapid Urbanisation: The influx of people into urban areas strains traditional support systems and increases workload on mothers, leaving less time for child feeding.

• Nuclear Families: Smaller family structures may lack the traditional support network for childcare and meal preparation.

• Lack of Awareness: Inadequate knowledge about children's nutritional needs contributes to the problem.

• Social Misconceptions: Potential biases against feeding methods or the role of fathers might further hinder proper nutrition.

Way Forward

• UN Review: The UN's High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is happening from July 8th to 17th, 2024.

•  During this forum, they will be specifically reviewing progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) - ending hunger, achieving food security, improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture.

• Localised Food Supply Chains: Such as public markets, street vendors, cooperatives, urban agriculture, and online direct sales, provide a more resilient and equitable approach to food security by relying on smaller-scale food producers and vendors to serve communities.

• Public Procurement Shift: Redirect public procurement practices to support sustainable small-scale producers. This could involve prioritising local food sources for government institutions and programs.

• Subsidy Shift: Shift agricultural subsidies from large-scale producers to investments that directly benefit local food systems. This could involve funding infrastructure development for local markets and producer networks.

• Building Resilience:  Climate-resilient infrastructure, like the raised roads and markets built in Bangladesh, ensures continued market access for farmers and consumers in the face of extreme weather events.

• Protecting Local Markets: Implement policies that safeguard local markets from being taken over by large corporations. This could involve regulations to ensure fair competition and prevent unfair practices.

• Promoting Sustainable Practices: Encourage sustainable and biodiverse farming practices within local food systems. This might involve supporting organic farming methods and promoting crop diversity.

• Increased R&D Investments: Doubling or tripling R&D expenditure in agriculture is suggested to enhance productivity and create a more climate-resilient food system.

• Dietary Diversity: Advocate for dietary shifts that encourage diverse and healthy diets as part of a sustainable food system.

• Connecting Producers and Markets:  Creating strong links between small-scale farmers and markets is crucial. 

• Initiatives like the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) project in the Philippines, which improved rural infrastructure to connect indigenous communities to markets.

  
  

  Short Takes

  The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): They are a collection of 17 global objectives designed to address a range of social, economic, and environmental challenges by 2030. Established in 2015, the SDGs aim to promote prosperity while protecting the planet, ensuring that all people enjoy peace and equity.

  
  

  International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems(IPES-Food): It is a global think tank that provides independent research and policy recommendations on sustainable food systems, aiming to promote food security, environmental sustainability, and social equity.

  
  

  Zero food children: Children between 6-23 months who had not consumed any animal milk, formula, solid, or semisolid food in the last 24 hours of a survey conducted as part of a study published in JAMA Network Open journal. However, the government of India has criticised this classification calling it non-standardised definition and for non-inclusion of breast milk.

CONCLUSION

Achieving zero hunger is critical for global stability and development, as it addresses one of humanity's most fundamental needs. Efforts to eradicate hunger must include sustainable agricultural practices and policies that prioritise the most vulnerable

Tags:
Polity

Keywords:
Zero Hunger SDG POSHAN