FAO Urges Action and Financing to Tackle Africa’s Hunger Crisis

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has expressed concerns over the growing hunger crisis in Africa, calling for more proactive and concrete actions to address the situation. During a meeting of Development Ministers from G7 countries, the FAO reaffirmed its commitment to a key initiative introduced under Italy’s G7 presidency to enhance food security in Africa and beyond.

According to the 2024 ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ report by FAO, one in 11 people globally—733 million individuals—were affected by hunger in 2023, with Africa experiencing the highest increase. The report offers critical recommendations for utilizing innovative financing tools and reforming the global food security and nutrition funding framework.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu emphasized the urgent need to focus on Africa, urging closer collaboration with the African Union and African leaders to strategically direct investments where they are most needed and can have the greatest impact.

He cited the G7 coffee initiative, proposed by Italy’s presidency, as an example of a sector that supports up to 25 million farming households and accounts for 80% of global coffee production, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

QU also highlighted the FAO’s support for the G7 Apulia Food Systems Initiative, introduced in June. This initiative focuses on low-income countries and supports projects across Africa. It aims to address structural barriers to food security and build efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems. Additionally, it aligns with the FAO’s commitment to addressing the link between climate change and agrifood systems.

The Director-General stressed that the policies, investments, and legislation needed to transform agrifood systems and achieve food security are well known, along with innovative and inclusive solutions for financing them. However, he warned that the funding gap could reach several trillion US dollars, calling for a significant increase in financial support for countries facing the most severe hunger and malnutrition crises.

Beyond financing, QU emphasized the importance of anticipating risks, shocks, and crises to transform global agrifood systems. To address this, the FAO has proposed a financing facility to the G7 for shock-driven food crises, developed in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

This facility aims to provide anticipatory action and rapid-response funding to prevent worsening food crises. It uses scientific advances and risk assessments to implement parametric insurance for 12 distinct hazards, leveraging donor and private sector investment to expand coverage across more regions using catastrophe insurance methodologies.

Leave a reply