SOFI 2024: Why Is Food Insecurity Still a Crisis?
Food insecurity remains one of the most pressing global challenges, threatening the well-being and stability of communities worldwide. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report is a crucial resource that sheds light on the current state of hunger, malnutrition, and access to food.
It highlights the alarming reality that millions of people still struggle to access adequate and nutritious food on a daily basis, often due to economic and environmental factors. In this blog, we will continue exploring insights from the 2024 SOFI report on how the lack of food security affects the ability to maintain a healthy diet.
Food Insecurity and Access to Nutritious Foods
Food security is fundamental to human well-being and economic stability. The 2024 SOFI report highlights stagnation in the progress toward ensuring regular access to adequate food for all, with global levels of moderate or severe food insecurity remaining unchanged for three consecutive years.
Key insights on food insecurity and access:
- In 2023, approximately 28.9 percent of the global population, or 2.33 billion people, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, meaning they did not have regular access to adequate food.
- Among this group, 10.7 percent of the global population, or more than 864 million people, were severely food insecure. This severe level of food insecurity means they ran out of food at times during the year and, at its worst, went an entire day or more without eating.
The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, with little change over the past four years. After a sharp rise from 2019 to 2020 during the pandemic, the situation has remained relatively stable.
The situation varies significantly by region. In Africa, the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity is nearly double the global average at 58.0 percent. In contrast, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Oceania have prevalence rates closer to the global average, at 28.2 percent, 24.8 percent, and 26.8 percent, respectively.
Is Food Insecurity a Barrier to Healthy Diets?
Healthy diets are built on a variety of foods that provide essential nutrients and bioactive compounds, balanced macronutrients, and a limited intake of unhealthy fats, sugars, and salt, which are often found in highly processed foods. While food security and healthy diets are closely connected, the relationship is complex.
Food insecurity does not always lead to unhealthy diets, as factors like food availability, behaviour, and cost vary across regions.
In some places, a lack of food security leads to higher reliance on staple foods, while in others, it may result in greater consumption of unhealthy, energy-dense foods. This can contribute to various forms of malnutrition, including undernutrition, obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies.
The more severe the food insecurity, the less variety people have in their diets—whether it is healthy foods or not. At first glance, it might seem like people facing food insecurity are making healthier choices because they are eating fewer unhealthy options. But the reality is more concerning.
For many, it is not about making better choices but having limited access to all types of food, both nutritious and less healthy. This issue is especially noticeable in lower-income countries, where a lack of food security often means struggling to access any balanced diet at all.
Inequalities by Income
- Low-income countries: 71.5% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet.
- Lower-middle-income countries: 52.6% face the same challenge.
- Upper-middle-income countries: 21.5% are unable to afford a healthy diet.
- High-income countries: Only 6.3% of the population struggles with affording a healthy diet.
Thus, three-quarters of the people who cannot afford a healthy diet live in low- and lower-middle-income countries, highlighting the significant disparity in access to nutritious food based on income levels.
Conclusion
For a comprehensive understanding of food insecurity and its impact on hunger, be sure to check out our previous blog, where we explored the SOFI report’s statistics on global hunger.
Stay tuned as we continue to unpack the SOFI report. Follow our Blog for updates and connect with us on LinkedIn to stay informed.
