ROME, 8 JULY – The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to worsening hunger around the world, further raising the stakes in efforts to end undernourishment and malnutrition by the end of the decade: the 2021 edition of The state of Food Security and Nutrition in the world (SOFI 2021) provides the first global assessment of food insecurity since the emergence of the global pandemic and the latest updates on food security and nutrition.
Billions of people cannot afford even the cheapest healthy diet. The number of undernourished is on the rise, progress on child stunting has slowed and adult overweight and obesity has increased in both rich and poor countries.
The theme of SOFI2021 is ‘Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition, and affordable healthy diets for all’, a theme that reflects the urgent need for change in the leadup to September’s UN Food Systems Summit .
This year’s report, jointly produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) will present:
• The first comprehensive global assessment of hunger and food insecurity since COVID-19 began.
• The latest statistics on child and adult nutrition.
• Estimates for projections and nutrition indicators on the numbers of undernourished people to 2030.
• Policy recommendations to transform agri-food systems with proposals to regain the upper hand in the fight against hunger.
The launch of the report will take the form of a virtual event on 12 July 2020, from 10.00 (EDT) in New York or 16.00 (CET).
Munir Akram, the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, will host the event which will feature presentations from:
• QU Dongyu, Director-General, FAO
• Gilbert F. Houngbo, President, IFAD
• Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF
• David Beasley, Executive Director, WFP
• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO
• Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief-Economist, FAO
In a special presentation, Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2021 Food Systems Summit, will share her vision for the summit.