107th meeting of the Committee on
Agriculture
27-29 November 2023
ANNUAL
MONITORING OF THE FOLLOW-UP TO THE MARRAKESH MINISTERIAL DECISION
Submission by the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO)
The following submission, dated 23
November 2023, is being circulated at the request of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
_______________
1 BACKGROUND
1.1. The latest edition of The State
of Food Security and Nutrition in the World[1] (SOFI) report, released in July, informed that the prevalence of
global hunger (PoU) had stayed relatively unchanged from 2021 to 2022 but was
still higher than the pre-COVID-19 figure. It was estimated that between 691
million and 783 million people suffered from chronic hunger in 2022. Considering
the midrange (735 million), 122 million more people faced hunger in
2022 than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
1.2. The report estimates that almost 600 million people will be
chronically undernourished in 2030, making it a challenge to reach the
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of eradicating hunger. This is 119
million more than if the pandemic and war in Ukraine had not occurred, and
23 million more people than if the war had not happened.
1.3. The SOFI report also showed that following an increase from 2019 to
2020, the global prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity[2] remained
the same for the second year in a row, far beyond pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
In 2022, an estimated 29.6% of the population (2.4 billion people) were
moderately or severely food insecure, 391 million more people than in 2019.
1.4. Finally, the joint report Hunger Hotspots- FAO–WFP early warnings on
acute food insecurity: November 2023 to April 2024 Outlook,[3]
also released in early November 2023, warns that acute food insecurity is
likely to deteriorate further in 18 hunger hotspots – comprising
22 countries or territories including two regional clusters – during the
outlook period from November 2023 to April 2024.
1.5. In this regard, four net food-importing countries (NFIDCs), namely
Burkina Faso, Mali, South Sudan and the Sudan, are hotspots of the highest
concern. Palestine was added to the list of countries/ territories of highest
concern due to the severe escalation of conflict in October 2023. These
hotspots have populations that are either already facing critical levels of
starvation (Catastrophe, IPC/CH Phase 5) or at risk of deteriorating to this
state (Emergency, IPC/CH Phase 4). These countries/territories need the
most urgent attention.
1.6. Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti,
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, all of which are NFIDCs, and the Syrian Arab Republic
are identified as hotspots of extreme concern, as they have a high number of
people facing or projected to be facing critical levels of acute food
insecurity, along with intensifying drivers that are likely to worsen the
life-threatening conditions further.
[1] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and 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.
[2] The prevalence of moderate or
severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity
Experience Scale (FIES) is an estimate of the percentage of a country's
population that faces difficulties in accessing enough safe and nutritious food
for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life.