What is Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero
hunger?
SDG 2 aims to end world hunger. It focuses on ensuring that all people,
especially the poorest and most vulnerable — which includes lactating mothers
— have access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food, ending all forms of
malnutrition.
Why is it so important to achieve SDG 2: Zero
hunger?
Undernourishment and hunger make people less productive and more likely
to suffer disease. This prevents them from raising their income and improving
their standard of living.
The food and farming industries are vital in eliminating hunger and
poverty. Under good, responsible management they could feed the entire
planet and generate income, foster development among the rural population and
protect our environment.
However, according to the United Nations (UN), one third of the food we
produce worldwide goes to waste. That means approximately 1.3 billion
tonnes of food gets thrown away every year. The latest report by the FAO
estimates that in 2022, between 691 and 783 million people were facing hunger
in the world.
Chronic malnutrition or stunted growth increase the risk of children dying
from common infections and are also associated with deficient cognitive
development. Currently, 148.1 million children under the age of five are affected
by this condition, with 28 countries where at least 30% of the child population
remains undernourished and stunted.
Malnutrition has decreased in regions such as Central and South Asia, but
continues to increase in West Asia and North Africa as well as sub-Saharan
Africa, where 22.5 percent still face hunger – a percentage that has increased by
4 percent since 2015.
It is estimated that by 2050 there will be 2 billion more people on the
planet, but we will have 25 % less land on which to grow crops. This calls
for sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural
practice to end hunger and achieve food safety, better nutrition and more
sustainable farming.
Ending hunger and achieving food security has become a major challenge due to
climate shocks and plagues of locusts, now causing a crisis in 23 countries,
especially in and around eastern Africa. These insects are ravishing crops and
devastating farms and are able to devour vast amounts of plants and
vegetables.
If small food producers were already at a huge disadvantage, the pandemic
has pushed many over the edge. Although their role in global food production is
crucial, data show that their productivity is systematically lower than large-scale
producers, with their income averaging less than half that of major producers in
most countries.
In this situation, ending hunger has become SDG 2 of the UN's 17 Sustainable
Development Goals, approved in September 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda.
