SDG2: Zero Hunger
by Matthew Smith
Introduction
The second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2), stated by the UN, is to end world hunger. This is no mean feat and has been an ongoing mission for many decades. The term ‘hunger’ in this context is measured by the prevalence of undernourishment. From the turn of the 21st century to 2015, the number of people undernourished dropped by almost a third. This was down to rapid economic growth and increased agricultural productivity. Many developing countries, especially seen across Central and East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, made huge progress in eradicating extreme hunger and managed to provide enough produce to meet their nutritional needs. [1] From 2015, however, the number has increased by 60 million in just five years to nearly 840 million people; current estimates show that to be around 11% of the world’s population. [2] These figures are estimated to increase to 900 million by 2030 if recent trends continue! So, how come these impressive figures turned for the worse? Are these figures going to improve? And what are the plans for the future? Keep reading this article to find out the answers to these questions and more.
What is hunger? And why should we care?
As mentioned above, hunger is measured by the prevalence of undernourishment. The UK does very well compared to other countries especially when comparing people who go hungry but is far from being perfect, from the turn of the 21st century the UK has had a 2.5% of the population are classified as undernourished which is estimated to be higher over the last 12 months. The cause of death in this country by malnutrition has been less than 0.001% for the last decade however across the world, hunger is the leading cause of death. [3] Hunger will continue to be a concern for decades to come as the population of earth is set to rise and resource availability is starting to fall. Our planet has provided us with tremendous resources, but unequal access and inefficient handling leaves millions of people malnourished. It is our duty to promote sustainable agriculture which is aided through the use of modern technologies and fair distribution systems. Through doing this we can sustain the whole world’s population and make sure that nobody will ever suffer from hunger again. [4] [5]
What went wrong over recent years?
According to the World Food Programme, there has been a rise from 108 to 135 million people over the last four years who suffer from acute hunger largely due to man-made conflicts, climate change and economic downturns. One third of these people are accounted for in three countries; Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan. The last five years has shown a growing destabilisation within these countries politics which has caused a dramatic rise in concerns over hunger. [6] Additionally, over the last 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic these figures could now double, putting an additional 135 million people at risk of suffering acute hunger by the end of 2021. [7]
So what’s being done?
There are a number of initiatives and policies that have been put in place to work towards the UN targets which are still aimed towards being completed by 2030 and are as follows: [1] [5] [8]
2.1 — UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO SAFE AND NUTRITIOUS FOOD
· Focus on providing safe, nutrious and sufficient food all year round to those who are in vulnerable situations, including infants and the poor.
2.2 — END ALL FORMS OF MALNUTRITION
· Within target 2.2 by 2025, there was an internationally agreed target on addressing the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women as well as older people. Astonishingly, 1 in 3 women of reproductive age is anaemic which has been a causing to nearly 151 million children under five still being stunted in 2017.
2.3 — DOUBLE THE PRODUCTIVITY AND INCOMES OF SMALL-SCALE FOOD PRODUCERS
· Focus on helping women, indigenous people, family famers, pastoralists and fishers through secure and equal access to resources including, land, knowledge, financial services and marketing opportunities
2.4 — SUSTAINABLE FOOD PRODUCTION AND RESILIENT AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
· Implement resilient agricultural practices that increase production, help maintain ecosystems, improve adaptation to climate change, extreme weather and other disasters as well as improve land and soil quality.
2.5 — MAINTAIN THE GENETIC DIVERSITY IN FOOD PRODUCTION
· Maintain genetic diversity of seeds, plants and animals through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the regional, national and international levels. To promote access to, and fair sharing of, benefits arising from using genetic resources.
2.A — INVEST IN RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY AND GENE BANKS
· Aimed at enhancing agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular the least developed countries.
2.B — PREVENT AGRICULTURAL TRADE RESTRICTIONS, MARKET DISTORTIONS AND EXPORT SUBSIDIES
· Actions taken in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round.
2.C — ENSURE STABLE FOOD COMMODITY MARKETS AND TIMELY ACCESS TO INFORMATION
· Ensure proper functioning of food markets and their derivatives including access to market information in order to help limit extreme food price volatility.
Realistic expectations
The reality is that most, if not all, of these goals will not be obtained by 2030. However, the progress towards achieving these goals will be very impressive over the coming decade. The reason that eradicating hunger seems unlikely in ten years is that maintaining zero hunger is very difficult especially if the incorrect infrastructure is in place. Factors including bad weather, disease, pests, war, rising prices of food and low wages or unemployment are just some of the factors that affect agricultural products and are difficult to control especially in societies that are unstable. [9]
Another important factor to consider is the amount of resources needed to completely eradicate hunger. There is a reason why the UK has a consistent 2.5% of the population being effected by hunger and that’s because it’ll take billions of pounds to do so. [3] In order to completely eradicate hunger worldwide an estimation of up to £200 billion will be needed according to some experts. It’s hard to put that number into perspective however if everyone in first world countries paid £30 towards ending world hunger then we would have enough funds to do so. [9] This being said, with small changes, experts expect numbers suffering from hunger will decrease. The change has to start somewhere, at both a large scale and small scale, such as with you and your local community.
How can you personally help?
We aren’t going to change the world in one day however each and every step, no matter how large or small will make a difference and that starts with you! Here are a few tips from us, here at YES UK to help you and your local area in preventing hunger:
1. Reduce food waste — a simple but helpful tip. Thousands of tons of food are wasted worldwide and to reduce this figure it starts at home. By reducing waste it helps future generations understand the severity of the issue and helps keeps the pennies in your pocket.
2. Food donation drives — Various NGOs have partnered with food giants to help feed the needy within the UK and abroad and by shopping at their stores they help those in need. Alternatively setting up events at schools, colleges and companies are possibilities to help spread both awareness and collect donation packages. Doing this could help us understand how privileged we are.
3. Pave the way from farm to market — Hunger statistics are rising because the food available is expensive. To help reduce this cost, and reduce the impact from the middle man, you could setting up opportunities for farmers to sell their produce at a price where they get a fair price. Alternatively, Support your small and local vendors, help them grow instead of pouring your money on retail giants.
4. Improve and invest in farmer education — addressing and educating people about the importance of diversifying your diet as well as food availability and access are important to develop a community where farmers and producers can thrive. This can encourage the next generation to be mindful of produce originality, diversity and nutritional value.
5. Help NGOs feed the needy — by donating your time to be a delivery driver, leftover food or money to support NGOs do their amazing work will help the process in creating a zero hunger world. It’s amazing how far a small amount of money and food can go, please go check some of them out!
References
[1][Online]. Available: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-2-zero-hunger.html.
[2][Online]. Available: https://ourworldindata.org/hunger-and-undernourishment.
[3][Online]. Available: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/GBR/united-kingdom/hunger-statistics.
[4][Online]. Available: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2_Why-It-Matters-2020.pdf.
[5][Online]. Available: https://www.globalgoals.org/2-zero-hunger.
[6][Online]. Available: https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000114546/download/?_ga=2.243609349.1688175244.1616611391-1808482096.1616611391.
[7][Online]. Available: https://www.wfp.org/stories/risk-hunger-pandemic-coronavirus-set-almost-double-acute-hunger-end-2020.
[8][Online]. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2.
[9][Online]. Available: https://www.globalgiving.org/learn/how-much-would-it-cost-to-end-world-hunger/#:~:text=Estimates%20of%20how%20much%20money,how%20to%20end%20world%20hunger..
