SOFI 2018: Building climate resilience for food and nutrition security
The annual report ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ (SOFI) (PDF) by the FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO presents progress towards ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition. SOFI 2018 confirms a rise in world hunger, which has been growing over the past three years, returning to levels from almost a decade ago. Stunting is reducing, though levels remain high, and adult obesity is worsening. Food insecurity contributes to both undernutrition and obesity, that coexist in many countries. Poor access to food increases the risk of stunting, which is associated with higher risks of obesity later in life. A specific focus of this year’s report is on building climate resilience for food and nutrition security. Exposure to more complex, frequent and intense climate extremes is threatening to erode and reverse gains made in ending hunger and malnutrition. Climate variability and extremes are among the key drivers of the uptick in global hunger and one of the main causes of food crises. The effect of climate change is undermining all dimensions of food security. Nutrition is highly susceptible to changes is climate and bears a heavy burden as a result: impaired nutrient quality and dietary diversity, impact on water and sanitation, effects on patterns of health risks and disease and changes in maternal care, child care and breastfeeding. In response, resilience should be strengthened, as well as the adaptive capacity of food systems, people’s livelihoods and nutrition. Solutions require increased partnerships and multi-year, large-scale funding of integrated disaster risk reduction and management and climate change adaptation programmes. The signs of increasing food insecurity and high levels of different forms of malnutrition are a warning that there is an urgent need for considerable additional work to ensure no one is left behind towards achieving the SDG goals on food security and nutrition.
A summary of the report is available (PDF), as well as a flyer (PDF) and a digital report.