Global leaders have approved a political declaration at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), committing to a clear set of targets and actions, including reducing the estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) annually by 10 percent by 2030.

Correcting the gender gap in agrifood systems would dramatically reduce the worldwide hunger rate, raise the incomes of hundreds of millions of people and add $1 trillion to global gross domestic product, offering one of the most effective pathways towards the common objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Government of Canada through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities – Anticipatory Action Window contributed USD 1 222 000 to strengthen the capacity of communities and local governance structures in Somalia, and mitigate the impact of El Niño-related floods on the most vulnerable communities, reaching over 45 000 people (7 816 households), of whom 49% women.

The Director-General of the FAO, QU Dongyu, has welcomed the adoption of the Pact for the Future, an agreement among UN member states designed to turbo-charge the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. In his address to the summit’s plenary, the FAO Director-General underscored the pact's provisions for more equitable agrifood systems, recalling that hunger has risen since 2015, with more than 730 million people facing hunger in 2023.

As a collaborative initiative of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VETLAB) Network brings together experts to use nuclear-derived and other methods for monitoring, early detection, diagnosis and control of transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases. It is a platform for the sustainable transfer of technologies to strengthen national and regional laboratory capacities and staff proficiency for rapid and early diagnosis and response.

Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today opened its first-ever Global Conference on Animal Health Innovation, Reference Centres and Vaccines, aimed at tackling animal diseases costing the world hundreds of billions of dollars annually and posing a threat to human health, global food security and livelihoods.

On the sidelines of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met with US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Ms Michele J. Sison. The Assistant Secretary was joined by Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome, Jeffrey Prescott.

Director-General announces FAO will host the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers. 

FAO has called for immediate global action to address the impending impacts of La Niña. It follows one of the strongest 2023-2024 El Niño climate events on record that affected more than 60 million people worldwide, including severe droughts in Southern Africa.

FAO at UNGA79 will highlight the important roles of food security, nutrition and efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring no one is left behind. FAO will discuss the many ways in which prioritizing agrifood systems transformations contributes to ending poverty, improving health and education outcomes, empowering women, ensuring the optimized use of natural resources as well as sustainable consumption and production, creating decent jobs and livelihood opportunities, reducing inequalities and rural-urban disparities, and tackling the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

The recently released State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 (SOFI) report estimates that 1 out of every 11 people globally faced chronic hunger in 2023. While we at FAO are working diligently with our partners to address the root causes of the issue of persistently (and unacceptably) high levels of global hunger and malnutrition, drivers like conflicts and climate change are unwieldy topics that may seem beyond the ability for each of us as to positively impact.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, launched the first ISAVET program in South Sudan attended by key stakeholders. This on-the-job training  addresses critical skills identified through assessments needed to effectively conduct surveillance and intervention to animal diseases at the local level, focusing on improving surveillance through disease detection, reporting and response.

The Government of the United States of America contributed USD 4 274 670 to FAO’s project entitled “Sustainable Operationalization of One Health in the Africa Region”. The project’s objective was to build stronger and more sustainable animal health systems across Africa by establishing One Health coordination mechanisms with functioning biosafety and biosecurity capacities in veterinary laboratories. The project advanced the implementation of biorisk mitigation strategies in Africa through the development and application of the new FAO Biorisk Assessment Tool. Among other results, it demonstrated the benefits and effectiveness of investing in One Health approaches through cost–benefit and cost–effectiveness analyses.

The G20 can make a significant contribution to global food security by promoting market transparency, refraining from adopting trade restrictions, and revitalizing agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Director-General of FAO QU Dongyu told a G20 meeting of agriculture ministers in Brazil.

Guinea experienced its first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in 2022. The urgency to control the outbreak was heightened by a risk analysis indicating a high probability of disease spread due to inadequate biosecurity measures along the value chain. Upon confirmation of the HPAI virus by the Central Veterinary Laboratory – which was fully renovated and equipped by the FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – comprehensive containment measures were implemented in support of veterinary services. 

The spread of conflict, access challenges and widespread flooding are severely hampering the emergency response efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations across the country, FAO warns.

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, today called for greater cooperation within the G20 family of nations as global hunger targets remain worryingly out of reach. In his opening address to G20 Agriculture Working Group (AWG) Ministerial Meeting in Chapada dos Guimarães, Brazil, Qu reminded the audience that 733 million people globally continue to face hunger, meaning the world is still far off track from achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).

The Government of the United States of America, through USAID, contributed USD 6.5 million to the FAO project, "2023 Emergency Livelihood Response Programme (ELRP) in South Sudan", which was implemented from 27 March 2023 to 28 March 2024. The project aimed to protect the livelihoods of South Sudan's most vulnerable communities, enhance food production and strengthen resilience. The project successfully reached 246 537 households (1 479 222 people), including 130 462 headed by women, through the distribution of emergency agricultural kits, training on agricultural and fish production practices, animal health services and the dissemination of timely food security and nutrition information.

In Washington, D.C. for the first time since her appointment as Secretary of Codex Alimentarius Commission, Dr. Sarah Cahill emphasized the need to ensure Codex continues to develop science-based standards that protect consumer health and facilitate fair trade in the context of a changing global environment.