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More than 800 million people around the world are hungry and do not have access to nutritious food

Ngonidzashe Taruvinga
The rate of malnutrition and number of hungry people globally has declined but at a slow rate in the past three years due to efforts by countries to fulfil the “The Zero hunger Challenge” (ZHC), one of the United Nations’ global goals for sustainable development.

This is an initiative which was envisioned by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in 2012 which rests on five basic pillars in order to give countries direction on ways to eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition for every citizen globally.

One of the pillars work towards reducing hunger in developing countries by increasing smallholder’s income and empowering women in agriculture and farmers’ organisations with the aim of reducing rural poverty and improving well-being.

A number of developed countries are taking action mainly on this pillar.

As stated by HE Neil D Briscoe, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland during a Model United Nations Conference at the Food and Agriculture Organisation Headquarters in Rome, Italy on September 21, 2015, “UK is working towards the ‘end of AID’ to developing countries in order to create jobs, increase smallholder’s income and empower women so as to reduce rural poverty and improve well-being mainly in Sub-Sahara Africa, South America and South Asia.”

The Zero Hunger Challenge is not only a problem for the developing countries but also involves developed countries as they play a huge role on food wastes.

More than 800 million people around the world are hungry and do not have access to nutritious food.

“The annual global food production can nourish almost 11 billion people, but it is a shame because everyone wastes about 180 kilogrammes of food per year which amounts to 1,3 billion tonnes annually,” posits Ms Clara V Fraga, Chief Officer-in-Charge, Outreach and Promotions, Office for Corporate Communication.

The ZHC rests on the following five pillars;

1. Zero stunted children younger than two years old

2. Hundred percent access to adequate food all year round and income

5. Zero loss or waste of food

The first pillar refers to safeguarding access to nutritious foods in the 1 000 day opportunity, which is the period between start of pregnancy

and a child’s second birthday.

This should be enhanced by nutrition sensitive health care, water, sanitation, education and specific nutrition interventions coupled with initiatives that enable empowerment of women.

The second pillar refers to enabling all people to access the food they need at all times through nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems, marketing, decent and productive employment.

The third pillar is directed at ensuring that all farmers, agribusinesses, cooperatives, governments, unions and civil societies establish standards for sustainability; verifying their observance and being accountable for them; encouraging and rewarding universal adoption of sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture practices.

The forth pillar focuses on increasing smallholder productivity and income so as to reduce rural poverty and improving well-being through encouraging decent work, and increasing smallholders.

Finally, the fifth pillar addresses the issue of minimising food losses during storage and transport, and waste of food by retailers and consumers; empowering consumer choice through appropriate labelling; commitments by producers, retailers and consumers within all nations.

However, the “Zero Hunger Challenge” does not only require huge corporations and governments for the vision to be implemented.

It begins with each global citizen thinking and acting appropriately to save and not lose or waste any food between its production and consumption process.

Just imagine if each person was to consume the minimum average amount of food reasonably without wasting any small percentage, everyone would benefit from the world food production.

“We need to empower one another to have 100 percent food sustainable systems, and moreover educate each other on the importance of obtaining a nutritious and balanced diet to prevent stunted growth of children.

It all begins with one’s simple actions to make the world a better place for all of us.

Ngonidzashe Taruvinga is a student at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy.