Today’s anniversary announced by the FAO highlights a series of problems which states, rich or poor, must remedy. The indiscriminate exploitation of the territory, the equitable distribution of food and, above all, the scourge of hunger. The phenomenon is on the rise. This is highlighted by the 2021 Global Hunger Index published in recent days by Cesvi onlus – Cooperation and development. Valeria Emmi: Zero Hunger goal at risk by 2030
The recent report on hunger in the world (Global Hunger Index 2021), published by Cesvi onlus – Cooperation and Development, acquires greater significance on an anniversary such as that of World Food Day, an important event also highlighted by Pope Francis in a message . In the face of a world that overproduces, especially in the food sector, the fact that in 2020 there are 155 million people in a state of more or less severe malnutrition is striking, 20 million more than the previous year. According to the report, wars, pandemics and climate change are the main causes of this fall, which interrupts the albeit timid improvements of recent years. According to Valeria Emmi, responsible for Cesvi’s institutional activities, it is very urgent to immediately reverse the course.
Dr. Emmi, we are celebrating World Food Day. What to do to make this appointment something really concrete?
This Day is an opportunity to continue reflection and take urgent action. This year, above all, there have been and will be some crucial international events: there was the United Nations summit on food systems, there will soon be the UN climate change conference in Glasgow, we have the G20 in foresight Italian, there will be the summit on malnutrition at the end of December. These are occasions and moments in which States, donors, governments must make a concrete and effective commitment to ensure that the world no longer suffers from food insecurity and that this fight against malnutrition and the ‘Zero Hunger’ goal are truly pursued with rigor and with a long-term vision.
Can the data provided by the 2021 report, the Global Index, actually be considered worrying?
Absolutely. We are deeply concerned, because the fight against hunger is dangerously off track. To be clear, we are experiencing a setback and in some cases even a reversal of the trend compared to the progress we have had so far since 2000 in reducing hunger in the world. And, even more worrying, is that, after decades of decline, the global prevalence of malnutrition is increasing with a very pronounced increase in 2020.
Is there a lack of sensitivity in the international community in understanding that, if there are areas of the world in crisis, then there is still a negative impact on the rest of the planet?
Awareness, in fact, has grown and is growing, both in the international community and in the population. But from awareness to concrete action it takes some and therefore concrete action is missing, a political decision that really reverses this course. We have about 50 countries, among the 116 analyzed by the Global Hunger Index, which register a serious, alarming or extremely alarming level in the field of hunger. Many of these states are plagued by conflict. In fact, one of the themes that we have highlighted this year is exactly the link between conflict and hunger, between conflicts, climate change, Covid and hunger. We are talking about three major crises that are triggering each other in a vicious circle. If we do not take urgent, immediate decisions that oppose this trend,by also taking political decisions, then addressing conflicts politically, addressing the pandemic politically, then we will never reverse this course. The crises are getting more and more acute, they are getting worse and worse because of the conflicts. Wars are the main cause of hunger, but the effect of climate change and the pandemic is also important. So it is necessary to take collective actions and to think about the fact that right decisions then have a general impact, even on those countries furthest away from us, precisely because we are all closely interconnected.Wars are the main cause of hunger, but the effect of climate change and the pandemic is also important. So it is necessary to take collective action and to think about the fact that right decisions then have a general impact, even on those countries furthest away from us, precisely because we are all closely interconnected.Wars are the main cause of hunger, but the effect of climate change and the pandemic is also important. So it is necessary to take collective action and to think about the fact that right decisions then have a general impact, even on those countries furthest away from us, precisely because we are all closely interconnected.
Will this desirable turnaround serve to achieve the Zero Hunger goal, which is one of the most important Millennium Goals established by the UN, by 2030?
According to the data we have today, globally we will not be able to reach the goal of Zero Hunger by 2030. Furthermore, some projections of the FAO confirm, for example, that the pandemic in 2030 will generate about 30 million more undernourished people . We will reach the number of 657 million people, almost 8% of the world population. So 30 million more hungry people than in a scenario in which the pandemic had not occurred. So we have crises that can be prevented in some way as well as addressed in a conscious way, because the pandemic is something that has caught us unprepared, but the arrival of such an event had been foreseen by many experts and for several years. for the development models we have put into practice. Definitely,if we take these problems seriously, it is still possible to reach the goal of Zero Hunger in 2030. But now we are dangerously astray and to date the projections take us absolutely far from that goal.
This post will expire on Wednesday November 17th, 2021 7:39pm
