Launch of ‘the State of Food Security and the World 2022’ Report

Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly

6 July 2022

Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen,

I am honored to join you today, as we launch the 2022 report on The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.

I commend the co-authoring agencies for their contributions to this important and timely report.

My friends,

We should be alarmed that we are not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger, by 2030.

Indeed, the driving factors contributing to food-insecurity continue to grow more complex and interconnected every day, and the consequences are becoming increasingly severe.

We are now living in the wake of a devastating pandemic, and the strain it has put on our resources, including food resources, has been immense. Similarly, the pandemic’s impact on our supply chains has been profoundly detrimental.

Added to this, the cumulative effects of climate change, environmental degradation, and economic stagnation have further compromised our supply chains and agricultural output.

Millions of people around the world now face more difficulties in accessing adequate food and nutritious diets, even as their savings and earning potential have diminished. And the insecurities have further deepened with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Excellencies,

This is a precarious time for global food security, as illustrated in this year’s SOFI report. The numbers, trends, and warnings outlined in this report paint a stark picture. Taken together, they constitute an urgent clarion call for us to do much better.

Our visions and commitments to ensure sufficient food and nutritious diets for everyone, everywhere, must be followed by action.

Transforming our food systems must be our foremost priority.

Rethinking and reprioritizing the way we consume and produce food, so that these activities are more sustainable and leave less impact on our environment, is now essential.

Excellencies,                           

As we enact the policies necessary to secure global food-security, the 2022 SOFI report can help guide our path. This is because the report highlights precisely the kinds of interventions and investments needed to achieve our Zero-Hunger targets by 2030.

It also provides us a better understanding of the long term causes of hunger and malnutrition, and their implications on our sustainable development and well-being, to better inform our policymaking.

Excellencies,

In light of all the challenges we face, securing global food security will not be easy, but it is our responsibility to do our utmost to achieve it.

And it is abundantly clear that we will only be successful if we work together, share our expertise, pool our resources, and collaborate for the greater good.

This is in fact the driving sentiment behind this High Level Political Forum.

Indeed, fostering coordination and deliberating on options and strategies is also the sentiment behind the Special event on global food crisis that I will convene with the Committee on World Food Security next week.

Friends,

We must avail ourselves of these opportunities and mobilize around our shared goal of ending global hunger, once and for all.

Through a multilateral approach, anchored in solidarity and a sense of responsibility towards the most vulnerable in our communities, we can achieve this important goal.

Let us come together to make meaningful progress on this most essential human need.

I thank you.