PremiumNEW DELHI: Financial institutions need to increase their support to developing countries so that they can help their people and invest in food systems, UN Secretary General António Guterres said in a statement on Saturday, a ahead of World Food Day.
Governments, scientists, private sector, and civil society need to work together to make nutritious diets available and affordable for all, Guterres said in the statement. Together, “we must move from despair to hope and action. On World Food Day and every day, I call on you to be part of the change."
UN’s appeal to make more financing accessible to developing countries comes amid increasing levels of poverty and inequality after the pandemic.
The World Food Day 2022 comes at a challenging moment for global food security, the statement said, adding that the number of people affected by hunger has more than doubled in the past three years.
Almost a million people are living in famine conditions, with starvation and death a daily reality. A staggering three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, Guterres said.
The most vulnerable communities are being battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, climate crisis, environmental degradation, conflict, and deepening inequalities, the secretary general said. The war in Ukraine has accelerated the rise in food and fertilizer and energy prices.
But, these trends can be reversed if all co-operate. “There is enough food for everyone in our world this year. But farmers need to urgently access fertilizers at reasonable cost to ensure enough food next year," the statement said, adding that the theme of this year’s World Food Day is to leave no one behind and to secure better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life.