The ambitious goal to achieve a world that is free from hunger by 2030, set by all nations in 2015, still remains out of reach.
Despite some progress being made in meeting certain goals, such as the prevention of stunting and an increase in exclusive breastfeeding rates, for the last three years, malnutrition and food insecurity have affected an astounding number of humans around the globe.
These are some of the conclusions reached in the latest report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
How has food security evolved over the last few years, and which regions are the most insecure? Are the global nutrition targets achievable? Our latest article provides the answers to these and other questions.
Explaining food security
Food security, as defined by the World Bank, occurs when all people enjoy both financial and physical access to adequate, safe, and nutritious food that matches their dietary requirements and food tastes in order to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.
The level of food security increases when these four requirements are met, or at least partially met. Unfortunately, many nations struggle with some or all of these requirements.
Global food security statistics
To gain an understanding of the current state of food security around the world, it is important to consider both how many people struggle with basic daily meals and how many suffer from consuming too much unhealthy food.
- In 2022, between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger, based on the latest FAO data.
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- When the midrange (about 735 million) is used, this means that 122 million more people experienced hunger in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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See also: Hunger and malnutrition statistics: Current data and trends
- 2.3 billion experienced moderate to extreme food insecurity.
- For 2.8 billion people, a healthy diet is a luxury.
- 3 billion individuals suffer from being overweight or obese, according to a World Obesity Federation study.
- 880 million adults suffer from obesity, with this number predicted to rise to 1.2 billion by 2030.
Food insecurity by region
In 2022, around 55% of everyone in the world who faced hunger were living in Asia, and 38% of those experiencing hunger lived in Africa. While this is changing for the good in Asia, this is not so in Africa.
*n.r. = not reported, as the prevalence is less than 2.5%.
Source: FAO
According to the FAO, there has been some progress in terms of lowering the level of hunger in Asia and Latin America, but an increase in hunger is still being seen in Western Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa.
- Asia is currently home to the largest number of undernourished people, but has shown a decline in the prevalence of undernourishment of around 12 million people.
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- Experts expect the region will continue to make progress, and by 2030, the number of undernourished is expected to fall to 242 million.
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- The African continent, on the other hand, is expected to register a significant increase from 282 million to nearly 300 million undernourished people by 2030.
- Latin America and the Caribbean, at the same time, will remain constant in terms of the prevalence of undernourishment.
- Europe and Northern America have shown almost no changes in moderate to severe food insecurity.
- In Oceania, the percentage of people experiencing extreme food insecurity decreased from 4.5% in 2021 to 3.4%.
See also: Heavy burden of world hunger and 10 solutions to end it
The six global nutrition targets
The six global nutrition targets were established by international organizations such as the FAO, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF to improve maternal, infant, and child nutrition.
In FAO’s interpretation, these targets are:
- Stunting: 40% reduction in the number of children under-5 who are stunted.
- Anemia: 50% reduction in anemia among women of reproductive age (15-49 years).
- Low birth weight: 30% reduction in the prevalence of infants born weighing <2.5 kg.
- Childhood overweight: Halt the rise and maintain the prevalence of overweight in children under-5 below 5%.
- Exclusive breastfeeding: Raise the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in infants 0-5 months to at least 50% by 2025 (60% by 2030).
- Wasting: Reduce and maintain wasting in children under 5 to <5%.
Over the past ten years, the number of cases of stunting and wasting has decreased globally, while exclusive breastfeeding rates have increased. However, this pace must accelerate to meet the global nutrition targets by 2030.
Latest data on global nutrition targets
Source: FAO
Food security trends for the global nutrition targets
By 2030, some minor progress in the achievement of the global nutrition targets could be expected, although not for all targets.
🔻 Low birthweight
There has been almost no improvement in the rate of low birthweight in newborns, which was 15.7% (21.6 million) in 2012 and 14.7% (19.8 million) in 2020 (the most recent available data).
According to projections, 14.2% of babies will be underweight in 2030. This figure exceeds the annual target of bringing the percentage down by a third, i.e., 10.5%.
🔻 Exclusive breastfeeding
The percentage of infants who are exclusively breastfed has increased globally from 37.1% in 2012 to 48% in 2022. However, these figures remain much lower than the target of 70% set for 2030.
🔻 Stunting
Globally, the frequency of stunting among children under five decreased from 26.3% in 2012 to 22.3% in 2022. By 2030, this figure is expected to drop to 19.5%.
🔻 Wasting
The rate of global wasting has reduced over the past ten years, and in 2022 it was 6.8%, down from 7.5%.
🔻 Overweight and obesity
Overweight prevalence has been stable worldwide and in 2022 was 5.6%. Overweight rates among children under five are expected to reach 5.7% by 2030, nearly twice the global target of 3%.
The percentage of adults who are obese has steadily increased over the past ten years, rising from 12.1% in 2012 to 15.8% in 2022.
🔻 Anemia
Anemia prevalence among women aged 15 to 49 years rose from 28.5 % to 29.9% between 2012 and 2019, and it is expected to rise to 32.3% by the end of the decade – a figure that is far from the target of a 50% reduction.
Final word
The latest data from the FAO paints an uneven picture, with some progress being made in a number of regions and an alarming increase in hunger in other areas.
To reverse the negative trends and ensure everyone has enough food, it is important to work together globally and invest in technology, better nutrition programs, and ways to adapt to climate change.
