In 2012, the United Nations Secretary General launched the Zero Hunger challenge to urge countries around the world to prioritise ending hunger. New global nutrition targets were created, including reducing the number of undernourished children under five, and increasing the number of infants who are exclusively breastfed by 2025.
Fast forward 12 years and we’re off track on all the nutrition targets. In 2021, an estimated 828 million people went to bed hungry, while around 2.3 billion people suffered from food insecurity. Globally, over 2 billion people will die without having access to formal health care and 3.1 billion people cannot afford to eat a healthy diet. Only 7 countries are on track to meet 4 of the 6 maternal, infant and young child nutrition targets by 2025. Progress is happening, but very slowly. Over the past 4 decades the number of young children dying from preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and measles has been dramatically reduced. But too many women and children around the world are still dying from a lack of access to health and nutrition services.
For the past 42 years, I’ve been working as a nurse in maternal and child health and nutrition. I was recognised for my work with an RCN Fellowship in 2021. I’ve been privileged to work in more than 30 countries, strengthening health systems and raising the voices of women and nurses in health and nutrition programmes and policy. My roles with organisations such as Save the Children and World Vision have allowed me to carry out essential work and research in pursuit of solutions to the challenges preventing the right to health and food for all. Zero Hunger is the second of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. It was set out in the UN’s ‘2023 Agenda’ as the blueprint to improving human lives and protecting the planet.
Many challenges need to be addressed if zero hunger is to be achieved by 2030. They include poverty and inequalities, especially in accessing health care and nutritious food. There is no way for people living in poverty to contribute to the creation of programmes and policies. The increasing power of the food industry on health and nutrition has negative impacts on improving health and nutrition outcomes. So too do any reductions in investment into health and nutrition services. My research indicates that including community voices in planning does help to improve health and nutrition outcomes, as do reducing inequity and taking an intersectoral approach in seeking these goals – that is, working across sectors and societies to take shared action on hunger.
In my dual capacity as a senior lecturer at the University of Westminster and member of the World Public Health Nutrition Association, I’m pleased to be hosting a global congress in London this summer, to explore what is working to improve health and nutrition. Urgent political action is needed to take a community-centred approach to support the basic human right to health and food. Resources need to be invested in social protection safety nets and health and nutrition services. And the voice of the food industry in policy formation, whenever it is contrary to those goals, needs to be silenced.
Nursing staff can play their part too.
You could host a community conversation on lived experiences of accessing health and food and send in a video. Or join us at the congress in London, from 10 to 13 June, to share your experiences and contribute your views and ideas.
And beyond that, use your voice and influence in whatever ways you can to help end the blight of food insecurity and hunger that still pervades around the world.
Fast forward 12 years and we’re off track on all the nutrition targets. In 2021, an estimated 828 million people went to bed hungry, while around 2.3 billion people suffered from food insecurity. Globally, over 2 billion people will die without having access to formal health care and 3.1 billion people cannot afford to eat a healthy diet. Only 7 countries are on track to meet 4 of the 6 maternal, infant and young child nutrition targets by 2025. Progress is happening, but very slowly. Over the past 4 decades the number of young children dying from preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and measles has been dramatically reduced. But too many women and children around the world are still dying from a lack of access to health and nutrition services.
For the past 42 years, I’ve been working as a nurse in maternal and child health and nutrition. I was recognised for my work with an RCN Fellowship in 2021. I’ve been privileged to work in more than 30 countries, strengthening health systems and raising the voices of women and nurses in health and nutrition programmes and policy. My roles with organisations such as Save the Children and World Vision have allowed me to carry out essential work and research in pursuit of solutions to the challenges preventing the right to health and food for all. Zero Hunger is the second of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. It was set out in the UN’s ‘2023 Agenda’ as the blueprint to improving human lives and protecting the planet.
Many challenges need to be addressed if zero hunger is to be achieved by 2030. They include poverty and inequalities, especially in accessing health care and nutritious food. There is no way for people living in poverty to contribute to the creation of programmes and policies. The increasing power of the food industry on health and nutrition has negative impacts on improving health and nutrition outcomes. So too do any reductions in investment into health and nutrition services. My research indicates that including community voices in planning does help to improve health and nutrition outcomes, as do reducing inequity and taking an intersectoral approach in seeking these goals – that is, working across sectors and societies to take shared action on hunger.
In my dual capacity as a senior lecturer at the University of Westminster and member of the World Public Health Nutrition Association, I’m pleased to be hosting a global congress in London this summer, to explore what is working to improve health and nutrition. Urgent political action is needed to take a community-centred approach to support the basic human right to health and food. Resources need to be invested in social protection safety nets and health and nutrition services. And the voice of the food industry in policy formation, whenever it is contrary to those goals, needs to be silenced.
Nursing staff can play their part too.
You could host a community conversation on lived experiences of accessing health and food and send in a video. Or join us at the congress in London, from 10 to 13 June, to share your experiences and contribute your views and ideas.
And beyond that, use your voice and influence in whatever ways you can to help end the blight of food insecurity and hunger that still pervades around the world.
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