Monitoring Food Security And Nutrition In Support Of The 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development

This information note reports on the state of food security and nutrition at the beginning of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It identifies key measurement challenges for monitoring progress towards the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2), which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. It also identifies the most important linkages both across the elements comprised under SDG 2 and between SDG 2 and other SDGs and lays out the challenges in monitoring progress towards improved food security and nutrition and sustainable agricultural systems.

The Right to Food Guidelines provide practical guidance on ways to implement the right to adequate food in a wide range of policy and programmes areas through a human rights-based approach. Since the adoption of the Right to Food Guidelines, FAO and its partners have produced a wealth of tools, strengthened capacity, and facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogues worldwide. But the goal of realizing the right to food of everyone is not accomplished yet- over 820 million people are currently suffering from chronic hunger. This fifteen-Year Retrospective on the Right to Food Guidelines helps us look back and understand what has worked and why, where the bottlenecks lie, and how governments and their partners can be most effective in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

Our planet faces multiple and complex challenges in the 21st century. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development commits the international community to act together to overcome them and transform our world for present and future generations. Focusing on food and agriculture, investing in rural people and transforming the rural sector - actions associated with the holistic vision of SDG2 - can speed progress towards all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This publication presents FAO’s work to support countries reach SDG targets, highlighting the crucial interlinkages between food, livelihoods and management of natural resources. Featuring examples of country projects across the globe, it describes how FAO’s long experience in shaping projects and policies founded on sustainability, expertise in monitoring and custodianship of SDG indicators, focus on tackling the root causes of poverty and hunger, and capacity to build partnerships with development actors can aid governments construct the necessary enabling environment to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

This publication presents FAO's work in developing and strengthening indicators that measure food, agriculture and the sustainable use of natural resources, shining a light on the 21 indicators of FAO custodianship. It describes how the organization can support countries in tracking progress and making the connection between monitoring and policymaking to achieve the SDGs.

The Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia 2018 provides new evidence for monitoring trends in food security and nutrition within the framework of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The in-depth analysis of progress made against Sustainable Development Goal 2 Target 2.1 (to end hunger and ensure access to food by all) and Target 2.2 (to end all forms of malnutrition), as well as the state of micronutrient deficiencies, is complemented by a review of recent policy measures taken to address food security and nutrition in all its dimensions. The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region encompasses great economic, social and environmental diversity, and its countries are facing various food security and nutrition challenges. While they have made significant progress in reducing the prevalence of undernourishment over the past two decades, new evidence shows a stagnation of this trend, particularly in Central Asia. Malnutrition in one or more of its three main forms – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity – is present to varying degrees in all countries of the region. Often, all three forms coexist, creating what is called the “triple burden of malnutrition.” Overweight among children and obesity among adults continue to rise – with now almost one-fourth of the region’s adults obese – and constitute a significant concern for future health and well-being and related costs. While poverty levels in most ECA countries have been declining in recent years, poverty coupled with inequality has led to increased vulnerability of disadvantaged groups and populations in rural and remote areas of low- and lower-middle-income countries. New analysis shows that adult women have a higher prevalence of severe food insecurity than men in some areas, pointing to gender inequalities that are reflected in access to food. Addressing gender and other inequalities is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and heeding the call to “leave no one behind.” The publication’s focus this year is on migration, gender and youth and the linkages with rural development and food security in Europe and Central Asia. Migration is linked in multiple ways to gender, youth, and agricultural and rural development – both as a driver and possible source of development opportunities, with labour migration and remittances playing significant roles in the region. Changing migration processes need to be fully understood to better address the challenges of migration and harness the potential benefits for sustainable development and revitalized rural areas. Governments, public and private institutions, communities and other concerned parties must strengthen collaboration and scale up efforts towards achieving the goals of a thriving, healthy and food-secure region.

Europe and Central Asia encompasses great economic, social and environmental diversity, its countries are facing various food security and nutrition challenges. While they have made significant progress in reducing the prevalence of undernourishment over the past two decades, new evidence shows a stagnation of this trend, particularly in Central Asia. The in-depth analysis provides new evidence for monitoring trends in food security and nutrition, and progress made against specific targets of the Sustainable Development Goal 2.

While countries in Europe and Central Asia have made significant progress reducing the prevalence of undernourishment, 14.3 million people still experience severe food insecurity. Malnutrition – in one or more of its three main forms – is present throughout the region. Demand for food is growing, consumption patterns are changing and urbanization is accelerating. The effects of climate change pose considerable challenges to agricultural production. The Sustainable Development Goals provide a framework for assessing and tackling these challenges and monitoring progress. Currently only a few countries have policy frameworks that address all four pillars of food security – availability, access, utilization and stability. To end all forms of malnutrition by 2030, countries will need to exercise strong political will and make financial commitments to meeting the targets. To explore policy interlinkages and ensure a socially just, integrated approach, it is essential to engage all concerned groups – public and private, domestic and international.

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is recognized as critically important for tracking progress, whether it serves the purpose of accountability to donors, informs future improvements to CSA practices, or contributes to the aggregate global progress toward meeting the SDGs or the global stocktake under the Paris Agreement. There has been a growing chorus acknowledging the need to align the indicators and M&E frameworks of major donors with those of the three global agreements. Monitoring and reporting has begun on the SDGs, although the development of methodologies for various indicators is an evolving process. The development of specific indicators for the agriculture sector is also well underway for the Sendai Framework. The organizations conducting this work have recognized the need to streamline these processes. For example, they have already attempted to align several of the indicators between the SDGs and the Sendai Framework.These operational guidelines aim to address the core constraints and needs of FAO Member States on both the design and implementation of M&E systems that can simultaneously address CSA and sector reporting requirements for the 2030 Agenda, the Sendai Framework and the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. First and foremost, the guidelines acknowledge the principal need expressed by Member States that M&E systems and indicators be simple and not onerous. The challenges that have always existed with regard to M&E for CSA are still present, and are particularly pronounced for pillar 2, adaptation and resilience. These challenges to the development of indicators for pillar 2 have exhibited the greatest need for attention.