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Urgent action needed to reverse rise in hunger, warns FAO at HLPF

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) raised the alarm of increasing hunger in the world, at the 2018 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York.

“Three years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, hunger is on the rise and urgent action is needed to ensure the trend is reversed. At the same time, obesity and other forms of malnutrition are a growing concern not only in developed but also in developing countries”, said Lucas Tavares, FAO Senior Liaison Officer, speaking at the General Debate.

He stressed that while over 800 million people in the world were undernourished, one third of the food produced is wasted or lost, wasting also natural resources such as land and water.

Tavares also said that rapid urbanization was increasing pressure in rural areas to respond to growing demand, and noted that rural areas were being left behind, concentrating around eighty percent of the world’s poor.

“These challenges cannot be dealt with in isolation or in opposition to each other. A new alliance between urban and rural populations is needed, with comprehensive interventions to ensure inclusive, resilient and sustainable food systems, as to leave no one behind both in rural and urban areas,” said Tavares.

The FAO statement also stressed that inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems were critical to ensure that agriculture supports the sustainable use and management of natural resources.

This article was originally posted on the Food and Agriculture Organization website. 

April Dodd

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