We must act now to change future of diets

A trader at Uthiru Market in Nairobi. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • New report commissioned by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition found that current food systems are failing to meet nutritional needs of nearly three billion people around the world.

  • Malnutrition is now the primary risk factor in disease burdens globally.
  • Better diets and improved access to safe, nutritious and affordable food is possible with targeted action that goes beyond the agriculture sector to encompass trade, the environment, and health, all while harnessing the power of the private sector and empowering consumers to demand better diets.

  • But this will not be possible without sustained political priority.

Across Africa, we have witnessed what happens when countries invest in agriculture: outputs increase, economies grow, and people’s livelihoods improve.

While nations have made significant progress on these issues in the past decade, we have an opportunity to do so much more. The recent African Green Revolution Forum called on the continent and the world to “seize the moment” in agriculture to help secure a prosperous Africa.

This echoes the intention of efforts working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Malabo Declaration, especially in the face of a shifting climate, population growth and other drivers of change. Yet, as we continue to unleash the potential of agriculture in every country, we must also ensure that progress is focused on not just feeding people, but nourishing them too.

A new report commissioned by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition found that our current food systems are failing to meet the nutritional needs of nearly three billion people around the world. Malnutrition, often caused by lack of availability and access to quality diets, is now the primary risk factor in disease burdens globally, higher than the combined risk of unsafe sex and alcohol, drug and tobacco use. Currently, one in three people worldwide suffer from some form of malnutrition – but this ratio will move towards one in two if current trends continue.

At the root of this challenge is the fact that our food systems are too focused on producing food in high quantity and not enough on delivering nutritious, quality diets. In other words, how we currently grow, produce, process, and market food is contributing to a global nutrition crisis that poses an increasingly serious threat to virtually every country’s future health and development.

CHRONICALLY UNDERNOURISHED

Currently, 56 million or 36 per cent of African children under age five are chronically undernourished and 13 million or 8.5 per cent are acutely undernourished. Simultaneously, the rates of overweight, obesity, and diet-related non-communicable diseases such as diabetes are also increasing. For example, the growth rate of overweight and obesity for sub-Saharan African men now exceeds that for underweight.

Data from the report, “Food Systems and Diets: Facing the Challenges of the 21st Century” predicts that if business continues as usual, there will still be 216 million undernourished people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. Conversely, by 2030, sub-Saharan Africa’s obesity rate is expected to reach 17.5 per cent, or double that of 2005.

When considered in all its forms, malnutrition is responsible for serious public health problems that ultimately translate to significant economic losses. In fact, the economic burden of malnutrition is equivalent to experiencing a global financial crisis each year. A paper commissioned by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition earlier this year found that malnutrition costs African economies three to 16 per cent of GDP annually.

Failing to address the factors driving poor diets and malnutrition will hold us back from securing a prosperous Africa. Agriculture and food systems must, therefore, deliver much more than food – they need to fulfil their potential to underpin the health and wellbeing of populations.

RETHINK SYSTEMS

It is time for us to rethink our food systems to include nutrition and production of quality diets alongside our goals of increased yields and productivity.

Better diets and improved access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food is possible with targeted action that goes beyond the agriculture sector to encompass trade, the environment, and health, all while harnessing the power of the private sector and empowering consumers to demand better diets.

But this will not be possible without sustained political priority. Governments, donors, and global partners must put food systems at the centre of global action, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

The financial commitments of more than $30 billion made at the African Green Revolution Forum, together with the pledges of political and policy support are a step in the right direction. But more needs to be done.

Without immediate action the situation is set to worsen dramatically over the next 20 years as powerful drivers of change further constrain our food systems.

With so much at stake, only a response on the scale and commitment used to tackle HIV/Aids and malaria will be sufficient to meet the challenge, particularly in Africa. We can change the future of diets, but we must act now. We must seize this moment.

John Kufuor is co-chair, Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition and former president, Ghana. Dr Alice Kalibata is president, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and former Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda.