Kabul, Afghanistan – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in close coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) celebrates the 39^th Anniversary of the World Food Day (WFD) at MAIL in Afghanistan on 17 October 2019.

Every year on the World Food Day, FAO and its 130 member countries across the world commemorate the founding of FAO on 16 October 1945.

The theme for this year - “Healthy Diet for a Zero Hunger World” - calls on everyone to start thinking about what we eat and calls for action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone.

For decades, the world was making progress in the fight against hunger, however the number of undernourished people is again on the rise and undergoing a “nutrition crisis”. More than 820 million people, or roughly one in nine people, are going hungry, and most of them are living in the Asia-Pacific region.

Food security in our times isn’t only a matter of quantity, it is also a question of quality. Recent FAO statistics shows that unhealthy diets, combined with sedentary lifestyles, have now become a leading risk factor for disability, non-communicable diseases including heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and deaths worldwide.  Over 670 million adults and 120 million boys and girls (aged 5-19) are obese with 40 million children (under age 5) are overweight. Different forms of malnutrition can co-exist within the same household and can be passed from one generation to the next. Health problems linked to obesity also cost national budgets worldwide an estimated USD 2 trillion in treatment each year. There is therefore an urgent need to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone.

In the context of Afghanistan, according to Afghanistan Living Condition Survey (ALCS) published by National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) more than 40% people are food insecure. Guaranteeing availability and access to healthy diets therefore remains an enormous challenges.  

 “Last winter we witnessed good precipitation across the country, and that is the reason today our beloved country has experienced improved food security. Unlike previous years, we had enough water to use for agriculture production and we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of grain, fruits, and vegetable production. Another great achievement is that we have also experienced 80% self-sufficiency in the poultry industry. MAIL will continue working closely with other government agencies, national and international organizations in Afghanistan to improve nutrition and food safety”, said Hashmatullah Ghafoori, the Acting Minister for MAIL.

“We have to promote healthy diets for life. We understand the critical time for human beings from conception to 2 years of age as the window of opportunity where good nutrition is pivotal. But, that is not the only time nutrition is important. Malnutrition can happen at any stage of life and have detrimental effects on health, educational attainment, productivity, and on all aspects of life. Hence, we will strive collectively to make healthy diets available for all,” said Parvathy Ramaswami, WFP Deputy Country Director and Officer-in-Charge in Afghanistan.

“Over the years, FAO, in partnership with the Government, donors and civil society, has been making use of its technical expertise to improve food security and nutrition in Afghanistan, through direct support to vulnerable farmers as well as the development and implementation of policies, strategies and programmes”, said Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative in Afghanistan. “On this World Food Day, FAO pledges to all sectors, the government, private sectors, farmers and individuals to join hands in transforming the diet and food systems, ensuring the local people eat enough and eat safely and nutritiously”, Aryal further added.

This year, the celebration of World Food Day is also accompanied with a food exhibition, aiming to showcase Afghan traditional foods from all over the country as well as promote the use of healthy and nutritious food.