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Near East and North Africa - Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023

Statstics and trends











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    FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO & UNESCWA. 2023. Near East and North Africa – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, 2023: Statistics and trends. Cairo.




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      Near East and North Africa – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, 2022
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      This year’s report presents evidence that Arab States face significant challenges in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 targets related to hunger, food security, and nutrition, as undernourishment, moderate or severe food insecurity, and malnourishment are increasing. Child wasting and overweight are higher, and adult obesity is double the global average. LDCs and conflict-affected countries suffer from even more severe hunger and malnutrition, including child stunting, wasting, and women’s anaemia. The report also provides the first assessment of the cost and affordability of a healthy diet since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shows a growing trend in the price of nutritious diets in recent years and that more than half the Arab population cannot afford a healthy diet. The Ukraine crisis, which has triggered food shortages and increased food price inflation, further adds to the burden on the region. This year, the report focuses on how trade can enable regional food security and nutrition. Arab countries rely significantly on imports for the essential food items necessary for diverse and healthy diets that they cannot locally produce in sufficient quantities due to limited natural resource endowments. It discusses the role of trade and trade facilitation as essential enablers of all four dimensions of food security and nutrition. It also underlines how tariffs and non-tariff measures influence the economic access to food in the area. On the other hand, countries that depend on trade may become more exposed to outside shocks, as the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis have highlighted. The report assesses Arab countries’ vulnerabilities, such as import dependency and lack of supplier diversification. To reduce the exposure to such external shocks, international trade must be carefully managed, sources of imports should be diversified, and international trade relations must be expanded to include new partners and markets. The report concludes with further policy recommendations that aim for the better integration of trade into food security and nutrition policies in the region.
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      Book (series)
      Europe and Central Asia - Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023
      Statistics and trends
      2023
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      The Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia for 2023 – Statistics and Trends provides a comprehensive analysis of Sustainable Development Goal 2, focusing specifically on Target 2.1 (ending hunger and ensuring universal access to food) and Target 2.2 (eradicating all forms of malnutrition). Additionally, the report evaluates progress concerning three global nutrition targets: adult obesity, exclusive breastfeeding, and low birthweight, as endorsed by the 2012 World Health Assembly. It also offers an updated analysis of the cost and affordability of a healthy diet within the Europe and Central Asia region.Recent estimates affirm that hunger prevalence remains relatively low in the ECA region. Food insecurity at moderate or severe levels is notably lower compared to global estimates. However, food insecurity levels remain significantly higher than those recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the ECA region has made significant strides in reducing undernutrition overall, some countries still exhibit relatively high rates of stunting (over 10 percent) and wasting (over 3 percent). Overall, the region is not on track in addressing childhood overweight, adult obesity, anemia among women aged 15 to 49, and exclusive breastfeeding.Healthy diets play a crucial role in safeguarding against the impacts of malnutrition, fostering improved health outcomes. Notably, in the past year, the Western Balkans experienced the highest cost for a healthy diet within the region, surpassing both the ECA and global averages. Overall, there has been an increase in the number of individuals able to afford a healthy diet over the past year, while the percentage unable to afford it remains significantly lower than the global estimate.
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      Book (series)
      Asia and the Pacific - Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023
      Statistics and Trends
      2023
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      This digital report is an update on the statistics and trends of the fifth edition of the Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition annual report published by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP). It reports on the region’s latest food security and nutrition situation highlighting progress (or lack thereof) on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular SDG 2 – Ending Hunger) and the World Health Assembly (WHA) 2030 targets on food security and nutrition. The latest statistics indicate that the region, with 370.7 million undernourished people, continues to represent half of the world’s figure. Similarly, the Asia and the Pacific region accounts for half of the world’s severe food insecurity, with more women than men being food-insecure. Prevalence rates on stunting, wasting and overweight among children under 5 years of age, as well as anaemia among women of reproductive age, are still off the marks in terms of World Health Assembly global nutrition targets. In 2021, the average cost of a healthy diet in Asia and the Pacific was estimated at 4.15 PPP dollars per person per day, representing a 5.3 percent increase in the cost of healthy diet, from 3.94 PPP dollars in 2020. It is estimated that in 2021, 232.8 million people in the region could not afford the cost of a healthy diet. These statistics reaffirm the need for whole-of-government, well-coordinated and integrated actions and investments towards agrifood systems transformation if we are to turn the tide and put the countries back on track to meeting the 2030 SDG agenda.

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