Malnutrition: “Zero hunger” objective in 2030?
Faced with the increase in the number of undernourished people, the United Nations' goal of eliminating world hunger seems totally compromised.
By 2030, the organization has set itself the goal of ending malnutrition. To achieve this, the ambition is to provide access healthy, nutritious and sufficient food all year round .
What is malnutrition?
Malnutrition mainly concerns two types of poor diet:
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- Insufficient food consumption (hunger, undernourishment, food insecurity)
- Excessive food consumption (overeating, overweight, obesity)
Although this second category is also responsible for many diseases and almost 2 billion adults are considered overweight, undernutrition has been the subject of more in-depth research and greater interest in recent years. .
Excessive consumption is also responsible for many diseases, and there are nearly 2 billion adults who are overweight. However, in recent years, undernutrition has been the subject of more in-depth research.
According to the latest report from “ The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World ”, 690 million people suffered from hunger in 2019, 10 million more than in 2018.
The consequences of malnutrition
People suffering from malnutrition must face numerous health problems, some of which are particularly serious. For overconsumption , the consequences can be hypertension, high cholesterol, risk of heart attack or even cardiovascular disease. Undernutrition will lead to stunted growth in height or weight and numerous nutritional deficiencies. Each of these parameters increases the risk of serious illnesses such as tuberculosis.
- Malnutrition is the cause of almost half ( 45% ) of the deaths of children under 5 years old (i.e. 3.1 million children each year)
- One in four children worldwide suffer from stunted growth. In developing countries, this proportion can be as high as one in three
An increase in the number of cases since 2014
At the beginning of the 21st century, a reduction in the number of undernourished people appeared, suggesting a decline in this scourge. Unfortunately, since 2014 the trend has started to rise again with alarming predictions for the future. The FAO estimates that if these recent predictions are correct, 840 million people should be affected by hunger by 2030. We are then very far from the objective set for this horizon.
Inequality in the face of hunger
Due to the nature of the main causes that lead to the appearance of food insecurity. Developing countries are the main affected.
Africa and Asia are notably the main countries affected by this problem of malnutrition. Wars, lack of access to water, poverty and climate change seriously harm food balance and development.
Africa is proportionately the continent most affected by this scourge. This concerns 19% of its population and this trend is unfortunately expected to continue until 2030.
Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic would also have contributed to the increase in these inequalities with 135 million additional people experiencing acute food insecurity.
The absurdity of food waste in this context
Today, 3.3 gigatons of edible food are wasted every year. This represents on average a waste of 527 Kcal per day per person . All undernourished people, i.e. 690 million, require 1725 billion Kcal daily. At the same time, we waste 3952 billion Kcal, more than double!
This report highlights the absurdity of the problem: on the one hand, part of the population is still undernourished. On the other hand, food waste remains considerable. For logistical reasons, redirecting waste to those in need is not immediate. But it shows that there are still solutions. Indeed, some studies claim that we can currently feed more than 10 billion people while there are 7.5 billion of us.
Overcoming world hunger therefore appears more as a problem of redistribution and management than of production.
Tackling malnutrition involves solving problems such as conflict, disease and poverty. It also requires optimal management and equitable distribution of resources. Strengthening local agriculture and minimizing food waste are key measures in this fight.
Sources: FAO, World Health Organization, lafaimexplee.org, un.org, Humanium.org, geo.fr
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