In a world abundant with resources and technological advancements, the persistence of hunger remains a profound paradox and a stark challenge. Despite global efforts to eradicate hunger, nearly 690 million people still go to bed hungry every night, and millions more suffer from malnutrition and food insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts, and economic disruptions have further exacerbated these challenges, pushing the goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 farther out of reach. This book, "Accelerating Progress Towards Zero Hunger," is a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted approaches necessary to tackle one of the most pressing issues of our time. It delves into the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, from poverty and inequality to climate change and environmental degradation. The book also examines the pivotal role of sustainable agricultural practices, innovative food systems, and effective governance in driving change. Through a combination of research, case studies, and actionable strategies, this book provides a roadmap for stakeholders across sectors-governments, NGOs, businesses, and individuals-who are committed to achieving Zero Hunger. By addressing the complex interplay of factors that contribute to food insecurity and malnutrition, this book offers insights into how we can collectively accelerate progress, harnessing the power of innovation, technology, and collaboration. As we stand at a critical juncture in the fight against hunger, the urgency of accelerated action cannot be overstated. The pages that follow are not just a call to action but a blueprint for transforming our food systems, empowering communities, and building a future where every individual has access to sufficient, nutritious food. Together, we can turn the vision of Zero Hunger into a reality.

The Food and Nutrition Security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and Transformation (FIRST) Programme represents a partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union (EU). In 2018, the partnership agreed on the need to have a policy effectiveness analysis conducted in most of the FIRST countries. As policy implementation rather than formulation is repeatedly raised as one of Pakistan’s challenges, this assessment considered the implementation challenges of specific policy processes relevant to the FAO-EU partnership in the country, rather than the entire suite of relevant policies. It considered the necessary conditions to move forward and how best to meet these conditions, including through more strategic resource allocation and more effective approaches to building institutional capacity.

Some geographic regions around the globe that are rich in terms of modern agriculture technologies, face a dilemma when it comes to storing excess produce, such as grains and even seasonal fruits and vegetable. They are often forced to destroy the surplus agricultural products due to the constraints of poor logistic systems, food warehouses and micro-economy system management. In contrast, millions of people in extreme rural areas are suffering from hunger and poverty. This book offers suggestions to resolve the problems of food security and poverty in rural areas and ensure minimum social justice so that those in rural areas have regular access to food and shelter. It also discusses how to develop sustainable foundations in extreme rural locations using indigenous resources to tackle issues like hunger, malnutrition, and chronic health problems.

The aim of this report is to present an overview of the 17 Goals using data currently available to highlight the most significant gaps and challenges.

This book showcases a unique collection of images documenting how FAO has played a leading role in combating hunger worldwide since 1945. It highlights the Organization’s ongoing efforts to help its Members achieve “zero hunger” in a changing world that is facing new and pressing challenges from migration and climate change. The foreword by the FAO Director-General and the introduction to zero hunger by the Director of the FAO Office for Corporate Communication provide the context for FAO’s work and a real-life example of how “zero hunger” can change people’s lives for the better. In addition, there are profiles of the five recently appointed FAO Special Goodwill Ambassadors for Zero Hunger. Next, the photos and their captions, with some accompanying text, illustrate FAO’s work and significant moments in its history. Thus, the reader can see the single frames in the context of the whole picture.

Key findings of this report show that much progress has been made towards the goal of ending hunger. Yet, many countries continue to face moderate to high degrees of undernourishment, especially where economies made least progress in transitioning towards high-productivity, modern agriculture and non-farm economic development and where policy stances have been weak in promoting agricultural development, reducing gender inequalities, and improving infrastructure and basic social services. The decline in undernourishment has come with a rise in the prevalence in overweight and obesity. The spread of this form of malnutrition has come with dietary shifts towards the consumption of more animal-sourced and processed foods that have accompanied urbanization and income growth. By 2015, the vast majority of countries faced moderate to high prevalence of adult overweight, and this form of malnutrition is also on the rise in countries with still significant rates of child undernourishment. No country in the world is showing declines in the rate of adult overweight.