The future of food seems more and more uncertain in the Near East and North Africa region as it faces growing food insecurity and malnutrition. We can and must act now to address the root causes of this situation and transform the structures governing how what we eat is produced, distributed and consumed.
As things stand now, protracted crises driven by conflict and other humanitarian crisis, as well as a rapidly growing population, are leading to increasing dependence on food imports. These often overlapping risks are also combining with economic shocks to undermine livelihoods and push millions into acute food insecurity. Poverty, widespread inequalities and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are exacerbating the situation.
Most importantly, the region faces increasing pressure from the impacts of the climate crisis, extreme water scarcity and the degradation of natural resources, which further aggravate the severity and impact of shocks and erode resilience.
The region has a long way to go to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2 —zero hunger by 2030. In 2020, 59.3 million people were undernourished in the region alone, 14.2 percent of its population.
Around 165 million of the region’s inhabitants live in rural areas, where most of the poor have to put up with inadequate basic services, low opportunities for innovation, limited access to productive infrastructure, services and value chains, and a lack of available jobs.
Increased migration to the cities has been fueling the ever-growing number of urban poor. Many are young people, who often do not find the opportunities they are seeking there.
