17 October 2017
CFS 44 Raises Concerns About State of SDG 2, Endorses Recommendations on Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
story highlights

Delegates at the 44th session of the Committee on World Food Security raised concerns that world is not on track towards achieving SDG 2 and other targets of the 2030 Agenda relating to food security and nutrition.

The meeting also adopted recommendations for policy convergence sustainable forestry, women empowerment, and urbanization and rural transformation in relation to food security and nutrition.

13 October 2017: The 44th session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 44) endorsed recommendations, among other issues, on: the rise of global hunger as result of conflict; food systems and nutrition; sustainable forestry for food security and nutrition (FSN); women empowerment in the context of FSN; and urbanization, rural transformation and FSN.

Held under the theme ‘Making a Difference in Food Security and Nutrition,’ CFS 44 was the first opportunity for an international forum to discuss the findings of the recently released Report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2017). The main finding of SOFI 2017 is that after ten years of decline, global hunger has increased for the first time in 2016, driven by conflict and climate change. Delegates discussed the causal link between climate change, conflict, hunger as well as other findings of SOFI 2017 including a slowdown in the decrease in child malnutrition and rapid increases in obesity in adults and children around the world. They expressed their concern that the world is not on track to achieve SDG 2 (End hunger, achieve food security, and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and other targets of the 2030 Agenda related to FSN.

On its contribution to the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, the Committee discussed lessons learned from implementing the 2030 Agenda, noting outstanding challenges, such as: addressing all forms of malnutrition; supporting small-scale food producers to adopt sustainable practices; improving the sustainability of food systems; and addressing regional and rural inequalities and the lack of rural infrastructure. The Committee also reviewed its contribution to the 2017 High-level Political Forum (HLPF) and adopted a decision on its contributions to HLPF 2018 and 2019.

Regarding nutrition, the meeting launched a report of its High-level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on nutrition and food systems, addressing the impact of food systems on sustainable and healthy diets and issues requiring attention, including implementation of the right to food, imbalance of power across food systems, and conflicts of interests. Delegates also reviewed reporting on progress in achieving the Global Nutrition Targets adopted by the second International Conference on nutrition (INC 2), good practices and lesson sharing for improved nutrition, and advancing nutrition including the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025). CFS 44 decided, among other conclusions, to consider elaborating guidelines on improved food environments for healthy diets supported by the scientific evidence provided in the HLPE report.

Under its policy convergence workstream, which aims to synthesize and coordinate policy decisions under other processes, the meeting adopted recommendations and guidance for further work on: sustainable forestry for FSN; outcomes of the forum on women’s empowerment in the context on food security and nutrition; and urbanization, rural transformation and implications for FSN.

Other matters included the CFS Multi-year Programme of Work (MYPoW); the periodic update of the Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition (GSF); Monitoring the Effectiveness of CFS; response to the independent evaluation of CFS; and critical and emerging issues for FSN.

CFS 44 convened from 9-13 October 2017, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in Rome, Italy. The CFS is an inclusive international, intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder platform on FSN for all. Its membership is open to members of the three Rome-based agencies (RBAs): FAO, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and World Food Programme (WFP). [FAO Press Release on CFS 44 Closing] [FAO Press Release on CFS 44 Opening] [IISD RS Report of CFS 44] [CFS 44 Website] [CFS Blog]


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