The United Nations Summit Addresses Global Food System Crisis
The United Nations opened a three-day summit in Rome on Monday to address the problem of a world food system that is lacking due to an increase in the number of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition.
An additional 122 million people have suffered from chronic hunger in the past three years, according to the United Nations, marking the failure of global efforts to reduce hunger.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that a week ago Russia suspended an agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
UN Secretary-General Calls for Action
“In a world of plenty, it is outrageous that people continue to suffer from hunger and starvation,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his opening remarks.
Guterres urged Russia to return to the grain deal with Ukraine, as its withdrawal led to higher food prices, “which is a devastating factor, especially for weak countries that are struggling to feed their people.”
“The higher food prices, the lower the hopes of developing countries,” he said.
“Global food systems are failing and billions of people are paying the price,” he added. He pointed out that more than 780 million people around the world suffer from hunger, with about a third of the world’s food being wasted or destroyed.
He added that while 462 million people are underweight, more than 2 billion are overweight or obese.
Summit Aims to Transform Food Systems
In this context, the summit is being held to review food systems and aims to provide additional funds to invest in more productive and sustainable food systems around the world.
radical transformation
The summit, which will run until Wednesday, will bring together representatives of the three UN food agencies based in Rome, namely the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Program (WFP), as well as heads of state, government representatives and delegates.
The Food and Agriculture Organization noted the need for “a radical change in the way food is produced, processed, sold and consumed” in order to feed the world’s population as it grows.
Guterres called for at least $500 billion annually to help developing countries make long-term investments to improve food systems.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development pointed out that “inaction costs” $12 trillion a year, while the food industry generates $10 trillion a year and rich countries allocate $700 billion to support their farmers.
The meeting in Rome comes ahead of the New York Summit in September on the Sustainable Development Goals. The International Fund for Agricultural Development believes that the meeting in Rome will allow countries to discuss the progress made in meeting previous commitments and identify shortcomings.
Improving the resilience of food systems is a complex challenge that spans multiple sectors.
Summit director Nadine Gbusa told reporters that progress will require coordination and more funding. “Failure to fund this transition would be a death sentence for the planet,” she warned, adding that the private sector also plays a key role. “The public health bill for malnutrition is one of the highest in the world,” she said.
