Almost one in ten people globally undernourished, more than 3 billion can’t afford healthy diet

Islamabad: World Food Day is being observed today (October 16) across the globe including Pakistan to highlight the millions of people who cannot afford a healthy diet and the need for regular access to nutritious food.

World Food Day 2022 is being marked in a year with multiple global challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict, climate change, rising prices, geopolitical conflict, and international tensions. It is an annual reminder that food insecurity and malnourishment remain widespread, and all of these ongoing threats are affecting global food security.

The theme for 2022 is ‘Leave NO ONE behind’ and the Day is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Almost one in ten people globally are undernourished, and more than 3 billion can’t afford a healthy diet, according to the FAO.

The FAO says governments should re-evaluate their support to agriculture to help improve sustainable production of more nutritious foods.

This day, a wide-ranging program is organized at the FAO’s headquarters in Rome, Italy. The initiative aims to draw more media attention to current challenges surrounding the food supply, and is directed at leaders of political and non-political organisations at all levels.

The organisation strives to boost agricultural productivity at all levels, raise global nutrition levels, improve the lives of rural populations, and support the expansion of the global economy.

Across the globe, many different events are organized to raise awareness of problems in food production, supply and distribution; and to raise funds for initiatives that assist the cultivation of food plants and the distribution of food. An illustration of this is ‘TeleFood’ which provides funding for micro-projects to assist small-scale farmers at the grassroots level. The projects aim to help farmers be more productive, and augment local communities’ access to food, and farmers’ cash revenue.

Moreover, FAO also provides assistance to countries modifying their agricultural policies, to help regions escape starvation, to help apply appropriate technologies, and to encourage an impartial discussion of food production-related topics. APP