Deputy Secretary-General Tells Forum Hunger Has ‘Worsened Substantially’ in Africa, Urges Building Strong, Sustainable Food Systems for Future of People, Economies, Environment

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the high-level presidential summit of the 2024 Africa Food Systems Forum, in Kigali today:

This meeting is timely.  Later this month, we will convene in New York for the Summit of the Future.  Throughout months of discussions and preparation, we have seen an indisputable consensus that bringing hope to future generations depends on our ability to address today the most pressing issues of our times as we seek to deliver on Agenda 2063.

This includes building strong, sustainable food systems that can support people, economies and the environment alike into the future. Africa’s voice, and its championship for the potential of food systems to help us achieve sustainable development, will be essential.  The critical role of women and young people must be supported and nurtured.

But we meet at a challenging moment.  The world faces multiple complex, interconnected challenges.  And our great continent is being hit hard by a devastating series of global shocks.  These are having a huge impact on people, the environment and our economies.

COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and the triple planetary crisis of climate, biodiversity loss and pollution — all of these challenges have brought immense pain and are further exacerbating Africa’s vulnerabilities and reversing the gains of the last decade in delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs].

Over the past week, we have heard concerns.  After a long period of improvement, hunger has worsened substantially in Africa.  Around 280 million people are undernourished — an increase of 57 million people since the COVID-19 pandemic.  Small farmers are affected every year by climate-related weather events, with losses estimated at $670 million per year.

And it is our women farmers that feel these shocks most acutely.  Indeed, households headed by women in rural areas lost about 8 per cent more of their income to heat stress than male-headed households.  And their reduction in income when floods struck was about 3 per cent greater than the loss to men.  The difference, taken across the world’s low- and middle-income countries, adds up to about an extra $37 billion lost to women from heat stress and an extra $16 billion from floods each year.

But the economic pain is not theirs alone.  It is also keenly felt within national coffers as well.  For national Governments, debt servicing is at an all-time high due to external shocks.  The pressure to address these shocks further constrains national budgets and fiscal space, leaving little to invest in sustainable development.  Many national Governments are spending more on debt servicing than education, health, water and sanitation — let alone building a more climate resilient future.

One by one, these pressures result in low investment, low growth and stalled progress towards the SDGs.

But I am optimistic.  As we prepare for the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, global leaders are actively looking at ways to make the SDG Stimulus a reality.  The Stimulus, called for by the Secretary-General last year, is aimed at enhancing and expanding SDG implementation.  This includes increasing access to long-term concessional financing, and a new financial architecture that better supports developing countries as they invest in the systems their people need.

Food systems are one of the systems that require massive investment and financial stimulus.  Under Brazil´s presidency, the G20 [Group of 20] is convening the Hunger and Poverty Alliance, which brings momentum to the food-systems-transformation agenda that we agreed on at the 2022 Food Systems Summit.

It’s time to transform words into action.  Progress requires efforts at scale and a sense of urgency.  It will also depend on working in an integrated manner towards our shared goals of a green economy anchored in renewable energy, digital connectivity, jobs, stronger social protection and education.

The focus of your discussions at this year’s African Food Systems Forum has created new momentum and vision to navigate the challenges using existing tools to achieve our commitments to transforming food systems.

But the success of any global agreement will ultimately be measured in the lives we change through implementation.  I urge all of us to make our commitment to the SDGs and Agenda 2063 a reality for all — not only on paper, but in the daily lives of the tens of millions of people around the world counting on us.

Let’s keep the promise to ourselves and the future that we are leaving for our children.  And let’s continue working together to build food systems that Africa needs.

Thank you.