'Bold investments' needed to address challenging nutritional burden in Africa

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, told African leaders gathered in Addis Ababa today that “bold investments” are needed to achieve our collective vision for economic growth and development in Africa, a continent that continues to face unacceptably high levels of hunger and malnutrition.

Qu was invited to address a High-Level Side Event at the 38th African Union (AU) Summit, hosted by the King of Lesotho, His Majesty King Letsie III, who is also FAO Goodwill Ambassador for Nutrition, on ways of finding a common position to address malnutrition in Africa.

As the world struggles to meet its Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and global nutrition targets, the situation is particularly challenging in Africa, where, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report, 298 million people — or 1 out of 5 — faced hunger in 2023. Additional data from 2022 shows that 924.8 million Africans could not afford a healthy diet, 63.1 million young children were stunted, and 10.2 million children were overweight. Furthermore, 123.9 million adults were obese, and 122.7 million women aged between 15 and 49 years of age were affected by anaemia.

The theme of today’s meeting “tells us that despite the gains we have made in making nutrition a key policy agenda in Africa, a lot more needs to be done to translate these policies and commitments into concrete actions to ensure healthy diets and adequate nutrition for every individual on the continent, leaving no one behind,” the Director-General said.

Many cost-effective measures are available to prevent and reduce malnutrition; however, they necessitate integrated actions across sectors and require increased and sustained efforts.

Crucially, current food security and nutrition financing is simply not sufficient, Qu said.

In this regard, the Director-General welcomed the African Development Bank’s important support, particularly its nutrition-smart investment portfolios in agriculture and health.

The upcoming Nutrition for Growth Summit, which will take place in March in Paris, will be critical to gaining momentum and gathering both financial and political commitments to accelerate nutrition actions, Qu said.

The Director-General also commended African Leaders for the recent adoption of the new Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Strategy and its 10-Year Action Plan, which he sees as a critical initiative with significant investments aimed at transforming agrifood systems across the continent to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.

“FAO is committed to continue playing a leadership role in accelerating policies and actions across agrifood systems to ensure healthy diets for all” and remains “a trusted partner of the AU in achieving the continental long-term goals set out in the Africa Agenda 2063, for a better food secure future for all Africans,” Qu said.