The African Union has given reasons why Africa will not meet its objective of ending hunger and malnutrition by 2025 or 2030.
This is contained in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Strategy and Action Plan: 2026-2035.
The CAADP is an African Union initiative that aims to help African countries eliminate hunger and reduce poverty by raising economic growth through agriculture-led development.
Through CAADP, African governments agreed to allocate at least 10 per cent of national budgets to agriculture and rural development.
The CAADP document, dated September 15, 2024, quoted statistics as showing that the continent’s economic and health burden made meeting the 2025 or 2030 target to end hunger, and malnutrition virtually impossible.
CAADP pointed to the fact that the continent struggled to meet basic food and nutrition security needs as 20.4 per cent of Africa’s population continued to experience hunger while 58 per cent faced food insecurity.
In the same vein, rising costs are discovered to have made healthy diets unaffordable for 924.5 million people, thereby exacerbating food insecurity and malnutrition on the continent.
Inadequate budgetary allocation to agriculture is also identified as a bane as a few countries are reported to be on track to meet the goal of allocating 10 per cent of public expenditure to agriculture annually.
“Despite some progress in reducing stunting rates, malnutrition, which leads to higher rates of morbidity and mortality and reduces human capital development, remains a severe issue.
“At the same time, obesity and related health issues are becoming more prevalent, adding to the continent’s economic and health burden. These statistics make clear that without intensified efforts, Africa will not meet its objective of ending hunger and malnutrition by 2025 or 2030,” the document read, in parts.
To address food and nutrition insecurity, the CAADP identified the need for African governments to secure land access for women, youth and marginalised groups.
Owing to the unmet target, CAADP’s 2026-2035 plan calls for coordinated efforts, increased investments and adoption of innovative practices to achieve sustainable, resilient and inclusive agri-food systems transformation.
The drive of the CAADP is for the transformation of agri-food systems through sustainable production of agricultural products for consumption, value addition and trade.
“Despite laudable progress in improving food and nutrition security across the continent, much remains to be done for the large portion of the population facing food insecurity.
Addressing this issue poses significant challenges for policymakers and stakeholders in light of the increasingly complex and interconnected nature of agriculture, food security, nutrition, health, and food safety.
“The challenges are manifested through the lack of diversified nutrient-dense crops, the high cost of healthy diets, limited consumer food choices, and SPS-related obstacles.
Food-borne illnesses, for example, affect about 130,000 people annually, resulting in high medical costs in addition to lost productivity (from work or school days missed).
Yet, a healthy and productive workforce is essential for the continent’s socio-economic transformation. The CAADP Strategy and Action Plan highlights the role of agri-food systems in eliminating hunger and all forms of malnutrition.
The document added, “It advocates adopting practices to improve the availability, affordability, and consumption of healthy and safe diets for improved human health outcomes. It also emphasises consumer education and the development of diet quality and nutrition-sensitive policies, strategies, and programs at the national, sub-regional, and regional levels.
“The private sector is critically important throughout the agri-food value chain, from input supply to production, processing, and distribution.
