by Her Excellency Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, Chairperson, Committee on World Food Security (CFS)

In our collective journey to end hunger and malnutrition, quality data is one of the most powerful tools we possess. It not only informs policies — it transforms them, bringing us closer to the people we serve. The power of data lies not just in its availability, but in its relevance, inclusiveness, and ability to guide better decisions for all — especially for the most vulnerable — by highlighting disparities and driving action to guide targeted responses and solutions.

As we mark World Statistics Day and approach FAO’s 80th anniversary, we celebrate the Organization’s longstanding leadership in global agricultural and food security statistics. In this context, I am honored to share a milestone recently achieved by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), where FAO has been a key contributor: the endorsement of the Policy Recommendations on Strengthening Collection and Use of Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) Data.

These globally agreed recommendations are the result of an inclusive, intergovernmental negotiation process that embodies the CFS model: multistakeholder, science-based, as informed by the CFS HLPE-FSN report, and people-centered. They provide a practical blueprint for building data systems that are robust, inclusive, and geared toward the progressive realization of the right to adequate food.

This approach brought attention to those often underrepresented in national data systems, including Indigenous Peoples, peasants, women, and youth. The knowledge systems and data practices of Indigenous Peoples and small-scale producers, rooted in traditional ecological knowledge and local experience, were acknowledged as essential to broadening and deepening FSN data landscapes. At the same time, the inclusion of women and youth — whose experiences are often absent from mainstream data collection — is crucial to ensuring that data systems reflect the realities of all people and inform more equitable policies.

This policy convergence process was facilitated through the support of the Gates Foundation, which funded the CFS Data workstream under the CFS Multi-Year Programme of Work (2020–2023).

CFS: driving global consensus on FSN Data

The global food security community has long recognized that data is not neutral. It reflects power structures, knowledge systems, and institutional capacities. 

Despite significant efforts, countries continue to face major challenges in generating and using food security and nutrition (FSN) data. First, fragmentation remains a critical barrier: FSN data often originates from multiple sectors, is stored in different systems, and is managed by various ministries and agencies. Harmonizing and integrating this data is essential but frequently constrained by limited national capacities, inadequate IT infrastructure, skills gaps, and the absence of legal frameworks to support a unified, coordinated data approach. Fragmentation also exists at the international level, where mandates related to FSN data are spread across different UN agencies, each with its own platforms and systems — many of which lack interoperability.

Second, scarcity of disaggregated data undermines efforts to achieve the SDG commitment to leave no one behind. Despite global attention, current data systems still fall short in capturing the full diversity of individuals and households, particularly in terms of their access to food and nutritional outcomes. Critical gaps remain in terms of population coverage and the granularity needed for meaningful analysis and policy targeting.

The CFS plays a unique role in the FSN data policy landscape. As the most inclusive platform in the UN system for food security and nutrition, it catalyzed and shaped a multilateral dialogue on FSN data, culminating in the endorsement of these recommendations in 2023.

FAO played a central role in this process, offering technical leadership and anchoring the recommendations in global priorities. Collaboration with UNICEF, WHO, and IFAD enriched the process, reflecting the cross-sectoral nature of FSN data. Together, these agencies ensured that the recommendations are both technically sound and operationally feasible.

One of the major outcomes of this process has been the formal recognition of Food Security and Nutrition as a distinct statistical domain within the United Nations Statistical Commission. This milestone — made possible by the joint efforts of FAO, UNICEF, and WHO, and backed by CFS’s political legitimacy — helps address long-standing challenges of data fragmentation and inconsistency, while enhancing policy coherence and evidence-informed decision-making.

Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Pact for the Future

The CFS Policy Recommendations are firmly anchored in the 2030 Agenda, particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 17 (Partnerships). They also align closely with the Pact for the Future, adopted at the 2024 Summit of the Future, which calls for a 50 percent increase in data availability — particularly disaggregated data — by 2030.

By emphasizing data disaggregation by sex, age, geography, and other dimensions, the recommendations help make FSN policy responses more targeted and equitable. They also call for greater investment in national data systems, especially in low-capacity countries.

From vision to implementation: what the recommendations propose

The recommendations focus on five interconnected pillars:

1. Creating demand and awareness: Governments are encouraged to build inclusive FSN data platforms and ensure participation of civil society and marginalized groups in defining priorities.

2. Sustaining investments: The call for increased and sustained financing — including through South-South and Triangular cooperation — emphasizes alignment with national strategies and plans.

3. Building sustainable capacities, infrastructure and technologies: Strengthening human and institutional capacities and modernizing digital infrastructures is essential to ensure long-term sustainability and equity.

4. Harmonizing and sharing data: Voluntary harmonization and interoperability are promoted, along with responsible sharing of practices guided by global standards and data protection principles.

5. Strengthening data governance: Equitable data systems require governance frameworks that are transparent, inclusive, and rights-based, with safeguards to protect privacy and prevent misuse.

Why this matters now

Without reliable data, it is impossible to know who is being left behind — let alone why or how to respond. Data is essential for accountability, for understanding structural inequalities, and for measuring progress on global goals.

The Pact for the Future renewed global commitment to data systems by calling for significantly increased availability of disaggregated data by 2030. The CFS recommendations offer a roadmap to meet that target and to support inclusive, resilient, and rights-based FSN data ecosystems.

As technologies like AI reshape the data landscape, the recommendations provide timely guidance to ensure that digital innovation serves the public good, not just those with the most power or resources.

Addressing the funding gap

A message from the CFS policy recommendations was clear: meaningful progress requires addressing the chronic underfunding of national data systems. Many statistical offices, particularly in low-income countries, remain under-resourced and under-staffed.

The recommendations call for long-term, coordinated investments and for better integration of FSN data into national statistical strategies. Donors and multilateral actors are urged to align efforts, support capacity-building, and reduce duplication.

Looking ahead

The endorsement of these recommendations by the CFS Plenary is not the end of the journey — it is the beginning. Governments, international organizations, and all FSN stakeholders are now called to turn these commitments into action: by investing in people, prioritizing data for decision-making, and using evidence to improve lives.

Let us remember that data is not just about measurement — it is about dignity. It ensures that every voice counts, and every policy is rooted in reality, not assumption.

Because better data leads to better decisions — and better decisions build a world free from hunger and malnutrition.

H.E. Ambassador Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile currently serves as the Chairperson of the Committee on World Food Security for the Biennium 2023–2025. She is also the Ambassador in Rome, Italy, and Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the United Nations Agencies in Rome. Additionally, she serves as the Vice-Chairperson of the Programme Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and, in 2023, she was the Chairperson of the Africa Regional Group.