Santiago de Chile, September 25 (EFE).- The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) concluded Wednesday that despite the fact that world hunger “remains persistently high,” Latin America is “the only region that has made progress.”
FAO’s 2024 report indicates that, globally, world hunger is “very far” from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) ‘Zero Hunger’ by 2030.
“It is a critical moment and at this time, commitment to vision is crucial to promoting progress on a regional, national and global agenda,” said FAO Deputy Director General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mario Lubetkin, at a meeting in which representatives from Latin America and the Caribbean also participated.
According to the organization, 730 million people worldwide will suffer from hunger in 2023, and by 2030, 580 million will still be hungry.
Still, “Latin America and the Caribbean are the only regions that have made significant progress in the fight against hunger since 2021,” said FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero. The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, stressed the need to “strengthen the commitment to food security” and highlighted the agricultural sector as “a pillar in food availability.”
“The Dominican Republic’s commitment to the fight against hunger and malnutrition is firm. We will continue to work with determination to ensure that every Dominican has access to adequate and nutritious food,” concluded the president of the Caribbean country.
Mexico also pledged its commitment to ending extreme poverty and eradicating hunger through its designated Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué.
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“President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has explicitly stated and committed that, during the course of her administration, Mexico will reduce extreme poverty to less than 2% of the total national population,” Berdegué assured.
“We have 6.2 million people living in income poverty and we have to reduce that number to less than 500,000 in the next six years,” he said. Mario Lubetkin closed the seminar by assuring the need to strengthen policies on hunger and poverty where “no one will be left behind.” EFE
