The 2022 Near East and North Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition provides an update on the progress made in the Arab States towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets related to hunger, food security and nutrition, as well as the progress made towards the 2025 global nutrition targets set by the World Health Assembly (WHA). It also discusses the important role of trade as an enabler for food security and nutrition in the region.
The first part of the report focuses on trends and statistics, while the second part examines how trade increases food security.
The data presented in this report show that the Arab States continue to face significant challenges in achieving both SDG target 2.1 – ensuring regular access to sufficient, safe and affordable healthy food for all people – and SDG target 2.2 – ending all forms of malnutrition.
Trade plays an important role in food security in the region. However, most of the countries have not mainstreamed trade into food security policies; thus, relevant policies must be redesigned accordingly. The potential for enhancing intra-regional trade is also an area that needs attention, especially considering the recent shocks in food supply chains.
If the region is to mitigate these challenges and to get back on track to meet food and nutrition targets, agrifood systems in the area must be transformed to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. Trade must be better integrated into food security policies in the region. FAO and other development partners are supporting member states in this endeavour.
This report is a joint publication the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP); the World Health Organization (WHO); the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
