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
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