Global Hunger Worsens Amid Climate Change, Threatening 2030 Nutrition Goals

Last year, one in eleven people globally experienced hunger, while one in three struggled to afford a healthy diet, indicating a significant backslide in efforts to eradicate hunger set by governments in 2015. A United Nations report highlights that not only is progress stalling, but issues related to food access are worsening.

The data shows that these challenges are increasingly intertwined with climate change, suggesting that food insecurity cannot be addressed in isolation but must consider the broader impacts of a warming world.

Máximo Torero Cullen, chief economist of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), emphasized that the agrifood system is operating under heightened risks and uncertainties exacerbated by climate change.

These impacts on global food systems pose a significant human rights issue, as the effects of warming on food security are expected to intensify. Torero described the crisis as an unacceptable situation that society cannot afford, both morally and economically.

The report noted that 733 million people went hungry last year, with 152 million more facing chronic undernourishment compared to 2019, bringing the total to levels seen during the last major global food crisis in 2008-2009.

This regression sets the goal of equitable food access back by 15 years, with the most severe impacts in low-income nations where a significant majority struggle to afford nutritious food. The FAO attributes climate change as the second-largest driver of global hunger after conflict, affecting food production, spreading diseases and pests, and causing climate migration, which can further fuel conflicts.

Countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe have recently declared states of disaster due to droughts exacerbated by climate change, highlighting the immediate and devastating impacts on food availability. Despite considerable spending by governments and organizations to address these issues, there is a lack of transparency and clarity on how funds are utilized and their effectiveness.

The U.N. report calls for a universal definition of financing for food security that includes comprehensive public and private resource allocation to tackle these complex challenges.

The world is currently not on track to meet the 2030 global nutrition targets set under the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015. Experts have criticized these goals as overly ambitious and unrealistic, including the eradication of hunger and malnutrition and doubling the productivity and income of small-scale producers.

Nemat Hajeebhoy of UNICEF Nigeria stressed the importance of coordinated efforts among governments, NGOs, and the private sector to address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition. Without such collaboration, vulnerable populations, especially women and children, will continue to suffer the most.