The Zero Hunger Challenge – Advisory note for action
100% ACCESS TO ADEQUATE FOOD ALL YEAR ROUND
View the full Advisory Note on “100% ACCESS TO ADEQUATE FOOD ALL YEAR ROUND”
I. Definition
One hundred percent access to adequate food means physical, economic and social access to food for everyone at all times, and for nutritionally adequate diets, in terms of quantity, quality, and safety.
II. Policy measures
Achieving 100 percent access to adequate food requires creating an enabling environment to allow and create incentives for key sectors and stakeholders to focus on food and nutrition security, including access to food.?? Strengthening access to food should be embedded in an overall strategy to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. Entry points include:
? Policies and legal frameworks. A comprehensive and coherent set of sectoral and cross-sectoral policies and legislation provide a critical foundation to address the underlying and immediate causes of inadequate food access.
? Programmes for inclusive food access. Enhancing market access, addressing market inefficiencies, building resilience, supporting livelihoods, implementing appropriate social protection mechanisms, and boosting consumer awareness and behavioural change campaigns are important elements for ensuring food access to end hunger and malnutrition in all its forms.?
? Governance. Establishing viable, inclusive, and coherent governance systems for food and nutrition security
? Human and financial resources. Governments and development partners, and private actors should translate the food and nutrition security aspects of policies, legislation, and programmes into effective action by allocating the necessary financial, organizational and human resources and solid administrative capacity.
Implementation:
Implementation should be country-led, draw on inputs, support and participation by various levels of government, international agencies, the private sector, farmer organizations, food industry organizations, trade unions, guilds, civil society, consumer groups, and non-governmental organizations. Actions should build on existing initiatives. Specific activities and the level of engagement (local, national, regional, or global) should be tailored as appropriate for each country and context. The principles for implementation to enhance food access include:
Partnerships, coordination and inclusivity: All concerned sectors and stakeholders should be able to take part in decision-making on food and nutrition security, and promote access to healthy food. ?
Evidence-based Decision-making: Policy, legislation, and program decision-making should draw on evidence generated through information systems.? These systems should monitor trends, track, and map stakeholder actions, monitor progress, and assess impact in a manner that is timely, comprehensive and transparent.
III. Metrics
? Prevalence of undernourishment.
? Food insecurity experience scale.
? Prevalence of households with inadequate food consumption
? Prevalence of households with over 75 percent share of food expenditure over total consumption expenditure.
IV. Messaging
The world can achieve zero hunger by 2030, but it will require the individual and collective effort of all stakeholders. For this to be achieved, every person has to have adequate access to sufficient, diverse and nutritious diets that are sustainable.? Moreover, economic and physical factors must not prevent consumers from obtaining adequate food. Food access must be universal and sustainable.
In striving to achieve food and nutrition security, the private sector and civil society have the power to mobilize resources and society.? These stakeholders should therefore contribute to access to healthy food through promoting social, environmental and economic sustainability.
V. Conclusion
The Zero Hunger Challenge will benefit from a greater coordination and links among the five pillars as well as a concrete discussion on how to leverage the strength of the Zero Hunger Challenge in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Work to-date on the five pillars pave way for more strategic partnerships among the United Nations agencies and development partners in order to create an enabling environment for ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition (SDG 2).