What is the Zero Hunger Challenge?
Zero Hunger is the United Nations Secretary-General’s
vision for a future where
- no person is hungry,
- where every woman, child and man enjoys their right to food;
- women are empowered;
- priority is given to family farming; and
- food systems everywhere are made sustainable and resilient.
What does Zero Hunger look like?
Universal access to nutritious food
in the 1000 days between the start of
pregnancy and a child’s second birthday,
stunted
children
younger
than 2
years
Nutrition-sensitive health care, water,
sanitation, education and specific nutrition
interventions, coupled with initiatives that
enable empowerment of women, as
encouraged in the Movement for Scaling Up
Nutrition
842 million people – 1 in 8 – are hungry.
access to
adequate
food all
year round
The MDGs aimed to halve the percentage of the
population which is hungry by 2015. The
projected percentage is 12.5%, against the 11.6%
target.
There has been significant progress, but both the
absolute number and percentage of people who
are undernourished are still too high.
food
systems
are
sustainable
30% of land is used for crops and pastures.
70% of freshwater is used to produce food.
Agriculture, forestry and other land use are
responsible for 30% of human-induced greenhouse
gas emissions.
Climate-sensitive investments in agriculture
improve land management, increase efficient use of
water and ensure a food secure future while
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
2.5 billion people are involved in smallholder
agriculture. They provide 80 per cent of the food
consumed in the developing world.
increase in
smallholder
productivity
and income
Most of the 1.4 billion people living on under
US$1.25 a day live depend on agriculture for
their livelihoods.
Support for smallholder farmers is 5 times more
effective in reducing poverty than investment in
any other sector.
1/3 of all food produced (1.3 billion tons) is never
consumed.
loss or
waste of
food
In developing countries, pests, inadequate storage
facilities and inefficient supply chains are major
contributors to food loss.
In developed nations, food is thrown away by
households, the retail and catering industries.