18 Food Security
Patricia Corbett and Nikita Dubberley
Thousands of people around the globe are either malnourished or have insecure access to food. Sustainable development goal 2 aims to create a world free of hunger by the year 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in the number of people globally facing food security issues and malnourishment (FAO, et al., 2023). The recently released State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 report indicates that food insecurity has plateaued and is no longer on the rise, however it is still significantly above 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
Global hunger in 2022, measured by the prevalence of undernourishment (SDG Indicator 2.1.1), remained far above pre-pandemic levels. The proportion of the world population facing chronic hunger in 2022 was about 9.2 percent, compared with 7.9 percent in 2019. After increasing sharply in 2020 in the midst of the global pandemic, and rising more slowly in 2021 to 9.3 percent, the prevalence of undernourishment ceased to increase from 2021 to 2022. It is estimated that hunger affected between 691 million and 783 million people in the world in 2022. Considering the projected midrange (about 735 million in 2022), 122 million more people faced hunger in 2022 than in 2019, before the pandemic (FAO, et al., 2023).
‘Stacks of Crab Pots in Petersburg, Alaska’ by Beth Fitzpatrick used under a Pexels License
Text Attribution
This text is from “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023: Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum” by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, which is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
End of Text Attribution
Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture have a big part to play in achieving sustainable development goal 2 by providing food and a nutritious protein source to people around the world.
Sustainable Development Goal 2 – Zero Hunger
Watch the video below to learn about SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), what it means for people across the world and how it can be achieved.
The state of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023
Watch the video below from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on the state of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023.
Click the link below to view the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ interactive map of global undernourishment and food insecurity from 2014 to 2022.
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture
Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture can provide a significant portion of the protein required to feed the world. Watch the video below to see the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture in 2022 and some of the ways we can work towards sustainable practice and increase food production for the world.
Further reading and viewing
Watch the video below, then explore the FAO publication:
References
FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP. & WHO. (2023). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023. Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc3017en
