Frustrations over the pace of climate action and the size of the finance target agreed in Baku are valid from the perspective of low-income countries, especially Small-Island Developing States (SIDS). It is also important to recognize that there has been real progress in some countries at the agri-food-nutrition-climate-water-nature-livelihoods intersection, and this seems to be particularly the case in some countries in the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF).

David Nabarro

Solid floor on which to build: But the outcome – a new global goal of $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, from public, private and innovative sources, with developed nations committing $300 billion per year – is a real increase on the previous target of $100bn a year. It is a solid floor on which to build. Is the amount big enough? Will it be made available to those who need it soon enough? I cannot say at this stage. Securing a sustainable future for all requires continued goodwill, engagement and collaboration. This is only possible if all concerned ensure the transparent provision, effective delivery and efficient use of promised funds. This will pave the way for greater confidence among donors and further increases in available resources.

Growing momentum on the agri-food-nutrition-climate + intersection: I sensed a greater recognition that those who produce food are affected first, and worst, by climate change, and that the numbers of people at risk of food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition are on the rise with the most affected being women and children. Agri-food systems contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions while, at the same time, having the potential to sequester carbon dioxide. That makes them quite special within climate discussions though – for now – it appears hard to bring them into the negotiations.

What is the basis for this? The contacts I have had with national food systems convenors and climate focal points, during the last two years, suggest that several governments are seeking ways to transform food systems in ways that converge their agri-food systems with climate action. They do this in ways that reflect the aspirations in the COP28 UAE declaration on Sustainable agriculture, Resilient food systems and Climate action endorsed by 160 Heads of Government last year. Some countries have come together in an ambitious Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation. There is backing available through different entities in the UN system, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, the Technical Cooperation Collaborative, the COP29 Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers, as well as different elements of a wide ecosystem of support which is constantly inspired by the Climate Champions, regional organizations and more. There is a lot of effort being invested in streamlining and connecting these efforts.

Younger people: In COP29 there was greater engagement of younger people who were systematically welcomed and actively engaged in many events. With their consistent focus on inclusion, governance, and accountability, their participation greatly adds to the ambition and potential impact of the different processes underway.

A will to work together: COP29 was a massive and complex event involving around 60,000 people from nearly 200 countries. I saw how the different groups that were there engaged in constructive ways and I appreciated the contributions of the organizers, volunteers, participants of all ages (especially younger people), governments, local authorities, farmers, advocates, businesses, civil society, media, and others. Despite their different perspectives they engaged in constructive dialogue, all are working for sustainable and just futures. The work on food and agriculture advances well and all those I met in Baku were doing their best to work together harmoniously. Many wanted greater ambition. Some are acutely frustrated because they fear for their future and sense underlying injustice. Not all agree on what to prioritize. But overall, though, I sense remarkable momentum which is paving the way for more substantive action even if the international geopolitical context is very difficult.

Looking ahead: Climate change is an exponential and existential challenge with increasingly severe consequences for many millions of people. The work ahead is immense and increasingly ambitious and innovative actions will be required. The journey ahead requires skilfully chosen investments that foster convergent ways of working: these will be needed more than ever in the years to come. Going further and faster requires everyone to focus on maintaining connections, fostering dialogue, nurturing respect, sharing energy and sustaining trust. The interactions in Baku showed me what might be possible, and I am impatient for more. Our 4SD Foundation will continue to contribute with its focus on sustaining cross-sector, interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder convergence through structured dialogues.

David Nabarro, Strategic Director 4SD Foundation, Geneva

IPS UN Bureau

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By David Nabarro and Joe Colombano
GENEVA, May 19 2020 (IPS)

When the COVID-19 virus travelled from Wuhan, China halfway across the world through Europe, the Americas and beyond in the space of a few weeks, it gave us proof, if one was ever needed, of how tightly interconnected we all are. Not only are our globalized economies interdepended, but also we ourselves are one with the environment around us, and with one another. We are one humankind sharing one planet. And yet, all too often we seem to forget it, as we carelessly revert to misguiding differences between “us” and “them.” Take, for example, the distinction between rich and poor countries, or as economists put it, between advanced economies and least developed countries. In the face of COVID-19, the only difference that matters is if we are sick or healthy. Other than that, we are all the same, regardless of economic status or geographic location.

Or are we really? Clearly we do not mean to say that differences do not exist. Indeed, the virus has shown us that, far from being the great leveler and equalizer that it was initially purported to be, it matters who you are and where you are. It matters if you are an African American in Chicago, a member of the First Nations in Northern Canada, a Rohingya refugee in Myanmar, a Dharavidweller in Mumbai, an informal worker in Nigeria, an older person in a residential home in the UK, an inmate in a South American prison, a meat processor in America, an immigrant labourer in a dormitory in Singapore, a female healthcare professional in any hospital around the world, or someone on a low income just about anywhere. It matters a lot. It makes the difference between being infected or not; between having access to testing or not; between health and illness, life and death. COVID-19 may be a challenge we all face, but it is our ability to respond to it that differswhether within or between countries.

David Nabarro

Or look at extreme poverty, a scourge that burdens the developing world most. According to the World Bank, COVID-19 has the potential of pushing an additional 40-60 million people back into extreme poverty. This would be an unfortunate reverse in decades of progress against global poverty. To make things worse, developing countries risk being hit by COVID-19 at the time when their economies are already weakened by the effects of low commodity prices, fleeing foreign capital and weakening currencies. In some instances, this volatility impacts the prices of food, with potential deleterious effects on the nutrition of the most vulnerable.

In the face of COVID-19, the advanced economies cannot afford to leave the developing world to fend for itself. After all, developing nations now suffer the impact of the pandemic through no faults of their own, the virus having reached their shores from the North, in the form of international travel. There is a real possibility, even likelihood, of major fiscal and financial crises in several large emerging economies and perhaps dozens of smaller ones. This would hamper our efforts to bring the pandemic under control. It would trigger social instability that is hard to reverse, and compound existing humanitarian crises. Even without invoking the moral imperatives dictated by our common humanity, it is in the political and economic interest of every country that the developing world is protected and spared the worst of this crisis.

Joe Colombano

It is true that COVID-19 knows no borders and makes no distinctions when it strikes. In that sense it is the ultimate global challenge. But countries are not equally equipped to deal with it, and it would be bad for the world if differences between nations blunt the collective response. The world needs the multilateral system like never before: budgets should be increased and not cut, and political support should be undivided. Our world is tightly interconnected: we are only as strong as the weakest amongst us.

David Nabarro, WHO Special Envoy on COVID-19, and Joe Colombano, economist

Read COVID-19 narratives of David Nabarro : https://www.4sd.info/covid-19-narratives/
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Author Malcolm Gladwell draws on the science of epidemiology in his book “The Tipping Point” to explain how ideas spread through a population, in the same way as an infectious disease can proceed from a few cases to a full-blown pandemic.

Dr. David Nabarro. Credit: UN Photo/Joao Araujo Pinto

In previous years I have worked on HIV and influenza pandemics: I have seen how rapidly contagion can spread. Recently, I have asked myself whether the world is near the tipping point for ending hunger. Has the momentum reached a critical mass? Is it reasonable to contemplate a world free of malnutrition? I believe it is.

In recent years many leaders have made commitments to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition. The intensity of focus and action has mushroomed in 2013 and in June it is higher than ever before.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’ (FAO) annual flagship publication, the “State of Food and Agriculture: Sustainable Food Systems for Better Nutrition”, was the first edition since 1947 to focus on maximising the nutritional impact of agriculture and food systems. It follows the decision by the countries that govern FAO to make the eradication of hunger and malnutrition its number one strategic objective.

World Environment Day focused on the issue of food loss and waste, with the U.N. Environment Programme and FAO teaming up in a campaign titled “Think. Eat. Save. Reduce your foodprint.” Given that one-third of all food produced is discarded between harvest and your home, minimising food waste is essential. Pope Francis said it best when he said that “wasting food is like stealing from the table of the poor.”

The renowned medical journal The Lancet’s latest edition on nutrition includes evidence that malnutrition is responsible for almost half of all child deaths – a staggering three million lives per year. Of these, 800,000 babies died because they were born too small or too soon, usually because their mother was malnourished. It estimated that scaling up 10 interventions could save one million children’s lives and prevent chronic malnutrition in 33 million more. The burden of scientific proof is now overwhelming.

Just ahead of the G8 Summit, the governments of the United Kingdom and Brazil, together with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, co-hosted an international summit on “Nutrition for Growth.” Several hundred high-level participants committed to reducing the burden of malnutrition on individuals, societies and the economy."The Zero Hunger Challenge is not a plan or a programme. It is a compass..." -- Dr. David Nabarro

More than 90 countries, development partners, civil society organisations and businesses pledged to save 1.7 million lives and prevent chronic malnutrition in 20 million children. They promised more than four billion dollars in new finance for nutrition.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hyde Park in support of a campaign called “Enough Food IF” and there were major events in 15 other cities throughout the world. Civil society groups from more than 30 countries then met in Washington DC to discuss how to achieve better results. These are among the thousands of citizens throughout the world who will check that the promises are kept.

This whirlwind month is an example of the increasing momentum building towards an end to hunger.

As the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals nears, the international community is considering the post-2015 development agenda and sustainable development goals. Though negotiations are still underway, there is growing support among governments and other stakeholders for food security and good nutrition for all people to be one of the goals.

Forty countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America are at the front of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement. They are supported by hundreds of partners from civil society, business and the development community, who are aligned behind national nutrition plans, designed and owned in-country. Results are already visible with many reducing the percentage of their children who are chronically undernourished.

Almost one year ago the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sensed the tipping point was near. He threw down the gauntlet at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, known as Rio+20 by launching his Zero Hunger Challenge. In our world of plenty, he said, not a single person should go hungry.

Ban, who comes from the Republic of Korea, knows from personal experience the indignity of hunger. He has seen how people can overcome hunger by making food and nutrition security a top national priority, and making sure that all departments of government, as well as scientists, farmers, responsible businesses and civil society work together to make it happen.

The secretary-general’s vision is a world in which every man, woman and child enjoys their right to food, and where all food systems are sustainable. The Zero Hunger Challenge is not a plan or a programme. It is a compass, setting the direction for countries, organisations and individuals who choose their own paths towards zero.

Fifteen countries are moving forward in line with the Zero Hunger Challenge. Dozens of others have formed multi-party parliamentary groups in support of ending hunger. The 23 international organisations which make up the High Level Task Force on Global Food Security are supporting countries which take up the Challenge.

Through all of this, the Committee on World Food Security, the preeminent body for global governance of food, has come into its own. Made up of governments, civil society and the private sector, the Committee has developed Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. It is working on principles for responsible agricultural investment, and on protracted food insecurity in countries in crisis.

These are the reasons I am optimistic that the world will soon reach a tipping point for ending hunger. Now is the time for promises that have been made translate into a steep decrease in the number – now 870 million – of people who are still hungry today. It will not be easy, and progress may not be linear, but we have an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate one of humanity’s most ancient scourges.

*Dr. David Nabarro is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Food Security and Nutrition.