The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024: Financing to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms

The study reports that an estimated 733 million (9.1 per cent) people were undernourished in 2023, that is, about 152 million more than the figure was in 2019. Asia constitutes the largest share amongst the worldwide undernourished population at 384.5 million people, followed by Africa at 298.4 million, 41 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 3.3 million in Oceania.

The 2023 data show that an estimated 2.33 billion people or 28.9 per cent of the global population were either severely or moderately food insecure. The severely food insecure population stood at 864 million or 10.7 per cent. This percentage has been stagnant since 2020.

Incidence of stunting among children under five years of age declined from 26.3 per cent in 2012 to 22.3 per cent in 2022. But it is projected that 19.5 per cent children in this age group will be stunted even in 2030. The overweight rate in this age group has stayed constant at around 5.6 per cent in 2022 is estimated to stay the same in 2030.

The current trend shows a lack of improvement in all food security related parameters globally and most of the countries are lagging behind on all the seven SDG nutrition targets. This performance severely impacts the SDG targets for ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030.

The report highlights the lack of a standardized definition for constitutes financing food security and nutrition, limiting the accurate assessment of funding available. It also emphasizes that critical factors such as caregiving practices, essential services, and major drivers of food insecurity like conflict, climate extremes, and economic downturns are often overlooked in existing frameworks that determine funding for food and nutrition.

Globally, public spending flows, official development assistance (ODA) and other official flows (OOF) for food security and nutrition in 2021 saw 35 billion US dollars being spent on food consumption. On the other hand, only 27 billion US dollars were allocated to addressing the major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition.

It is estimated that to meet the food security and nutrition SDG goals by 2030 an additional funding from anywhere between 176 to 3,975 billion US dollars will be required. An additional 90 billion dollars are necessary to meet several global undernutrition goals.

The analysis reveals that 63 per cent of 119 low- and middle-income countries have limited or moderate access to financing options for addressing food insecurity and malnutrition. This challenge is primarily driven by perceived financial risks and associated costs, especially by commercial stakeholders, which create barriers to securing the necessary funds.

The largest source of funding for agrifood systems and sectors that affect food security and nutrition is considered to be the private finance. However, due to a lack of reliable data, it is difficult to properly track, verify and account for these financial flows, hindering efforts to assess their true impact.

An important measure recommended in the report is to maintain proper data for accountability and transparency and it will reduce the financial risk factor. Enhancing the reliability and accessibility of financial data can strengthens the investment case for food security and nutrition initiatives, the report adds.

In addition to mobilising more financing options, existing funds need to be employed efficiently By optimizing national budgets, repurposing public support, and prioritizing sustainable agrifood systems, countries can improve food security and nutrition without additional costs.

The report states that the current financial landscape for ending hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity are functioning in a siloed manner competing with other related development goals. It is imperative to undertake a holistic approach to issuing and accessing finance for scaling up the investment options to achieve food security and nutrition goals.

Focus and Factoids by Aditya Prem Kumar.