Welcome to the United Nations
The state of SDG 2 implementation is sobering, with many countries and communities struggling to provide adequate, safe and nutritious food to their people. Interconnected and often mutually reinforcing challenges and drivers, including conflict, climate change and climate extremes, uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic slowdown and downturns, as well as growing structural inequalities, among other factors, all undermine progress on SDG 2. In 2022, between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger. Additionally, 2.4 billion people were moderately to severely food insecure. In addition to the scourge of hunger and food insecurity, policymakers must also confront the environmental impact of unsustainable agrifood systems. It is estimated food systems are responsible for up to one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and a key driver of biodiversity loss, while consuming about 70 per cent of freshwater withdrawals.
To address these and other related challenges in food security and nutrition, governments and their partners must commit to a systems approach, taking integrated action across a range of relevant sectors, and engaging diverse stakeholders. The current session at the HLPF will, therefore, take a holistic, multi-sectoral approach to the discussion on SDG 2.
Proposed guiding questions:
- How are current global crises impacting food security and nutrition, and where and for which groups are these pressures felt most acutely?
- How can we accelerate actions, strengthen partnerships and governance to end hunger and malnutrition, and realize the right to adequate food?
- How can we unlock the financing needed to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all forms?
- What are innovative solutions and best practices for sustainable and resilient agriculture? How is international and regional cooperation on food systems contributing to advancing SDG 2?
Chair:
- H.E. Ms. Paula Narváez, President of the Economic and Social Council
Highlights:
- Findings of the report of the Secretary-General on progress towards the SDGs – SDG 2 on zero hunger
Ms. Faryal Ahmed, Statistics Division, DESA - Representative of Regional Commissions: Regional perspective on implementation of SDG 2 and interlinkages Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
Interactive panel discussion
Moderator:
- Ms. Afshan Khan, Coordinator, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN)
Panellists:
- Ms. Aline Mosnier, Scientific Director for the FABLE Pathways Consortium, France
- Mr. Iain Wright, Vice Chair of the Steering Committee of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, Committee on World Food Security
- Ms.Inaya Ezzedine, Member of Parliament, Lebanon
- Mr. Michal Mlynár, Acting Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
Lead Discussants:
- Mr. Stefanos Fotiou, Director of the Office of Sustainable Development Goals, FAO
- Ms. Meena Pokhrel, Deputy General Manager of Nepal Agricultural Cooperative Central Federation Limited, member of the Cooperatives Working Group of the World Farmers’ Organisation (MGoS)
Interventions by ministers and other participants (up to 2-3 minutes each)
