Food security and nutrition in Africa Expert Group Meeting, DESA

New York 16-17 September 2019

Namukolo Covic, Senior research Coordinator

IFPRI/A4NH Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Food Security and Nutrition in AfricaIntroduction: key messages1. Multiple burdens of malnutrition2. Undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight obesity and diet related

NCDs3. Significant food security challenges 4. Policies and strategies increasingly in place5. Multiple initiatives galvanized by CAADP and SUN6. Significant challenges implementing existing policies and programmes effectively7. How can we do better? 8. Adequate financing and focusing on synergy with a food systems approach

Multiple burdens of malnutrition

30.3

7.15

22.2

8.110.3

29.9

8.1

2.4

35.6

96

32.1

7.14.7

29.1

4

13.7

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Stunting Wasting Overweight

Stun

ting

prev

alen

ce, %

by

regi

on

Africa region North Africa West AfricaEastern Africa Middle Africa Southern Africa

Stunting, overweight and wasting prevalence by Africa UN region for children <5 years (adapted from GNR, 2018).

Trend of overweight and stunting for different age categories, Africa averages (source, GNR, 2018)

59.3

31.2

38.3

5.6

17.7

41.2

30.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Overweight-Under-five Overwieght-girls 5-19years

Overweight-adultwomen

Stunting-under-five

Prev

alen

ce, %

for t

he g

iven

po

pula

tion

and

year

2000 2016 (2015 for adult women)

What are the challenges?

Proportion of children 6-24 months meeting MDD and MAD based on DHS reports (adapted from 2014-16 national DHS Surveys)

9

47

29

19

26

22

18

7

31

2119

10

17

1113

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Ethiopia Ghana Kenya Malawi Nigeria Rwanda Zambia Zimbabwe

Prop

ortio

n of

chi

ldre

n m

eetin

g m

inim

um d

iet

dive

rsity

or m

inim

um a

ccep

tabl

e di

et, %

Minimum Diet diversity Minimum Acceptable Diet

Challenges1. We need more diverse diets but agriculture policies and strategies have

been biased towards staple foods; access and affordability of nutrient dense foods are limited

2. Food safety is a significant challenge: mycotoxins (aflatoxin); pesticide/chemical residues?; AMR? Water quality?

3. Inadequate food and environmental safety systems4. Stability of food supply is challenged by heavy dependence on rain fed

agriculture but irrigation is a double edged sword

Africa’s balance of trade for Maize (A) and Rice (B) (Abera et al., 2019; Covic et al., 2019; Karimov et al., 2019) Based on FAOstat data

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Met

ric to

ns 'm

illio

ns

A: MaizeExport Import Difference

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Met

ric to

ns ‘m

illio

ns

B: Rice

Export Import Difference

Africa’s balance of trade for Wheat (C) (Abera et al., 2019; Covic et al., 2019; Karimov et al., 2019) Based on FAOstat data

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Met

ric to

ns 'm

illio

ns

C: Wheat

C. Africa Wheat trade balance, million metric tons

Export Import Difference

The policy and programme environment is looking better and better

Policy and programme contextAgriculture/CAADP: contextualized to countries- Compacts NAFSIPs Mainstreaming nutrition CAADP results

framework- Joint sector reviews (ReSAKSS, Regional SAKSS, Country level SAKSS)- Done: First CAADP Biennial Review 2017; 2019- Food safety index

SUN: contextualized to countries- Policies Strategies implementation plans to district

levels - Coordination bodies - Common results frameworks- SUN-Academic Platform or equivalent M&E arrangements;

Capacity?

African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN) Initiative- Targets heads of state, finance ministers, champions- Africa nutrition accountability scorecard

African Union Commission et al. (2014).

The annual cost of undernutrition

How can we do better?

Address context: Estimated contributions of selected factors to changes in HAZ: Bangladesh, Nepal, Odisha (India), Ethiopia, Senegal, Zambia (Source, Headey et al., 2017).

Drivers of food system change

Food supply systemsAg production Food storage,

transport and trade

Food processingFood retail & provisioning

Food environment

Consumer

Diets

Aim for synergy

• But the prevailing landscape must be better understood.

• Must pay attention to generate evidence on “why” and “how” questions

• African academic institutions must be better engaged

CFS, HLPE 2017

Concluding remarks: How could we do better?Appropriate alignment and coherence of policies, strategies, programmes and interventions with meaningful collaborative engagement.- Adequate financing and capacity existing initiatives- Diversify agriculture, focus on suitability including

biofortification- Manage agricultural intensification with land and water

management being critical- Manage market forces, trade & fiscal policies prudently- Factors influencing food choices must be mitigated- Develop/implement value chain innovations & business

models with food safety considerations- Long term sustainability considerations: “What is in it

for Africa in the EAT Lancet Dietary Recommendations?”

Outcome: Better, healthier more sustainable diets …….

Aim for synergy