NEW YORK, MAY 26 – African countries are at the vanguard of a vital transformation of food systems to simultaneously address food security, nutrition, social and environmental protection – all while boosting resilience – said the UN chief, Antonio Guterres, opening on Thursday an High-Level Political Dialogue on “Build Resilience in Nutrition: Accelerate Africa’s human capital and socio-economic development”.
The meeting, part of the Africa Dialogue Series 2022, is co-organized by the Office of the Special Representative for AFRICA (OSAA) and the African Union. The theme draws from the African Union’s theme for the year and is aligned to Aspiration 1 of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which envisions a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development, a key goal of which is to ensure a continent of healthy and well-nourished citizens. It is also linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aims to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030, as well as increase agricultural productivity and ensure sustainable food production systems. Guterres said that for too long, nutrition, food security, conflicts, climate change, ecosystems and health have been treated as separate concerns, “but these global challenges are deeply interconnected. Conflict creates hunger. The climate crisis amplifies conflict”, and systemic problems are just getting worse.
“Our goal is strengthening the supply chains and offering concrete solutions to bring added value for the African production system”, the Italian Permanent Representative, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, said in his message to the meeting.
The 2022 edition of the Africa Dialogue Series (ADS) is taking place in May throughout Africa Month. The last two days are bringing together policymakers, researchers, civil society representatives, academics, representatives from the AU and UN entities and other stakeholders. A key outcome will be a “call to action” that garners the engagement of African governments at the highest level and rallies the international community’s support to strengthen the resilience of agro-food systems, health, and social protection to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs. (@OnuItalia)
