Thursday, November 30, 2023
News and Views from the Global South
Food Security and Nutrition
Smallholder Farmers Gain Least from International Climate Funding
Smallholder farmers from the Global South benefit from a grossly disproportionate 0.3% of international climate finance despite producing a third of the world's food and despite holding the key to climate-proofing food systems.
Time to Convert Climate Change Rhetoric into Action, Says WFP’s Gernot Laganda
It is crucial to narrow the gaps and ensure that climate finance goes to where people are most vulnerable, says Gernot Laganda, Director of Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)—especially as the most fragile states only receive USD 2.1 per capita while non-fragile states receive USD 161.
Are Many Children in Japan Going Hungry? How Can We Help?
Picture this: It’s the scorching days of summer, and kids are flocking to the nearby mall, eager to bask in the cool air and hang out with friends. But among the laughter and chatter, one girl stands alone in the food court.
Growing Appetite for Nutrient-Rich Native Indigenous Australian Foods
Growing up in Sydney, Kalkani Choolburra, a Girramay, Kuku Yalanji, Kalkadoon and Pitta Pitta woman from Far North Queensland, would frequently travel with her family up and down Australia’s eastern seaboard. Her grandfathers and uncles would bring fresh catch of dugong, her favourite bush food, and she would go hunting for the short-necked turtle with her aunties and female cousins.
Skyrocketing Inflation Puts Food Security in Pakistan at Risk
“We are under extreme stress about skyrocketing prices of essential edible commodities and the cost of gas and electricity. The situation is becoming worse because every day. We must pay more for wheat flour, sugar, tea, milk, oil, etc.,” Azizullah Khan, a civil servant, says.
Why Root Crops Are the Future of Food Security in Africa
Despite the dominance of the “Big Three” cereal crops and a steady rise in meat consumption, an overlooked food sector is projected to become ever more central to Africa’s food security and rural economic growth between now and 2050.
World’s Richest Countries Must Set More Ambitious Climate Change Goals, Report Finds
Individually and collectively, member countries of the G20 are falling far behind in their greenhouse gas reduction goals and are failing to make the significant cuts on emissions that would be needed to keep global temperatures low, despite possessing the technological and financial capabilities for reducing emissions.
Political Will and Investment Will Score the Goal for Zero Hunger
A world free from hunger is possible, but it demands political will, investment, and effective policies to transform agriculture and rural development, says Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Disappearing Fish Spell Hard Times for Women in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's ballooning informal sector has, in recent years, spawned the over-exploitation of the country's natural resources, with the fisheries taking some of the most felt battering.
Empowering Women in Assam: Livestock Farming Brings Economic Relief Post-COVID
Seema Devi is a 39-year-old woman hailing from India's northeastern state of Assam. She lives in a village called Milonpur, a small hamlet with no more than 1 000 inhabitants. While most men from the village, including Devi's husband, move to cities and towns in search of work, women are left behind to take care of the house and kids.
G20: Cutting Food Loss and Waste is an Opportunity to Improve Food Security
With the ongoing global food crisis—triggered by the COVID pandemic, disasters, supply chain disruptions, and conflict in Ukraine—food security should be at the top of the G20 agenda when countries gather in India in September 2023.
Land Beneficiaries Lament Worsening Poverty in Resettled Areas
Located between two heavily-deforested mountains, Nakadanga Trust in Machinga District in southern Malawi looks lifeless. It is isolated away from all other original communities. Here, the houses are made of mud bricks and they are grass thatched. There is no source of potable water in the area. There is no school nearby, no health centre and no shops for groceries.[related_articles]
Massive Fish Mortality Strikes Kashmir’s Lake, Threatens Livelihoods
Abdul Lateef Dar, a 45-year-old man living on the outskirts of Kashmir's renowned Dal Lake, relies on the lake's fish for food and income.
Food Insecurity Fears as Pakistan Faces Cyclone, Monsoon Season
A warning by the UN that Pakistan may face acute food insecurity in the coming months should serve as a wake-up call for the government to focus on the flood-hit areas where the people still live without shelter, medication, and proper food, analysts say.
Climate Disasters Have Major Consequences for Informal Economies
In the Pacific Islands and many developing and emerging countries worldwide, the informal economy far outsizes the formal one, playing a vital role in the survival of urban and rural households and absorbing expanding working-age populations.
Nothing Beats Bushmeat, Not Even the Risk of Disease
Meat from wild animals is relished across Africa and widely traded, but scientists are warning that eating bush meat is a potential health risk, especially in the wake of pandemics like COVID-19.
Why Quality Seeds Are among the Most Valuable Currency in Climate Finance for Africa
At long last, momentum is growing for an overdue rethink of climate finance and development assistance to support countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Finding Ways to Feed South Africa’s Vast Hungry Population
In the deep rural village of Jekezi in South Africa's Eastern Cape, most young and able-bodied people have fled the area, leaving behind people with disabilities, the elderly, and children.
Amid Power Cuts in Zimbabwe, Food Preservation Made Easy by Grannies
Amid silent refrigerators spawned by crippling electricity cuts, township grannies are relying on their smarts and traditional preservation: roasting and smoking meat over fires as they attempt not to throw away food.
Empowering Women is Key to Breaking the Devastating Cycle of Poverty & Food Insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa
Studies consistently show that women have lower rates of agricultural productivity compared to men in the region, but it’s not because they’re less efficient farmers.
Food Shortages Deepen in Cyclone-Devastated Vanuatu
One month after the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu was hit by two Category 4 cyclones within three days, food scarcity and prices are rising in the country following widespread devastation of the agriculture sector.Next Page »
More than 820 million people in the world are still hungry today, underscoring the immense challenge of achieving the Zero Hunger target by 2030. Hunger is rising in almost all subregions of Africa and, to a lesser extent, in Latin America and Western Asia. There is great progress seen in Southern Asia in the last five years, but the prevalence of undernourishment in this subregion is still the highest in Asia. A disturbing fact is that about 2 billion people in the world experience moderate or severe food insecurity. The lack of regular access to nutritious and sufficient food that these people experience puts them at greater risk of malnutrition and poor health. Although primarily concentrated in low- and middle-income countries, moderate or severe food insecurity also affects 8 percent of the population in Northern America and Europe.
In every continent, the prevalence rate is slightly higher among women than men.
With regard to nutrition indicators, if current trends continue, the 2030 SDG Target to halve the number of stunted children will not be met nor the 2025 World Health Assembly target to reduce the prevalence of low birthweight by 30 percent. The trends of overweight and obesity are additional reason for concern, as they continue to rise in all regions, particularly among school-age children and adults. The most recent data show that obesity is contributing to 4 million deaths globally and is increasing the risk of morbidity for people in all age groups.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, a joint report by the United Nations agencies, FAO, IFAD, WFP, UNICEF and WHO reaffirms their commitment to working together to overcome emerging challenges and free the world from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The report shows that the global level of the prevalence of undernourishment has stabilised; however, the absolute number of undernourished people continues to increase, albeit slowly.
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