With high food prices affecting people around the world, especially in low-income countries, Alvaro Lario, President of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), highlighted the urgency of making strategic investments in agriculture and rural development to prevent future food price increases and ensure access to healthy diets for all. His video statement was delivered at the Special Event dedicated to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 (SOFI 2025) report, on the margins of the ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) at UN Headquarters in New York, today ahead of the full report launch on 28 July.

According to the analysis on 2021-2023 food prices conducted in the report, the extensive fiscal and monetary interventions responding to the COVID-19 pandemics, combined with the consequences of the war in Ukraine and recurring climate shocks, have contributed to inflationary pressures and high food prices in recent years. Low-income countries have been hit particularly hard. While median global food price inflation increased from 2.3 per cent in December 2020 to 13.6 per cent in early 2023, it climbed even higher in low-income countries, peaking at 30 per cent in May 2023.

The Organizing Committee of the II BRICS Forum “Traditional Values” is proud to announce its partnership with the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance (WBA). The decision was made following an official invitation sent by Fausto Pinato, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Brazil, President of the BRICS Parliamentary Front and the Forum’s Organizing Committee, to Monica Monteiro, Chair of the Brazilian Chapter of the WBA, and the subsequent confirmation of participation by the Women’s Business Alliance.

As part of this cooperation, the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance will be an active participant in the Forum’s business program. Monica Monteiro will chair a roundtable dedicated to the role of women in corporate governance, international trade, as well as financing, investment, and business development opportunities among BRICS countries.

The WBA’s participation in the Forum will underscore the importance of expanding dialogue among parliamentarians, entrepreneurs, and leaders of BRICS countries on humanitarian and business issues.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) have reached a major milestone in their joint efforts to promote environmentally sustainable trade in Africa. During the 72nd ARSO Council Meeting, held from 23 to 24 June 2025 in Zanzibar as part of the 31st ARSO General Assembly, ten new African Sustainability Standards were officially approved—representing a significant output of the ongoing Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between ECA and ARSO.

The ten newly approved standards provide comprehensive guidance on ecolabelling and sustainability practices across key sectors—including construction, textiles, fashion, mining, tourism, and agriculture. These standards were developed by ARSO’s Technical Committee (TC61) on sustainability standards and are aligned with international principles of standardization, ensuring credibility, transparency, and broad applicability.

With just five years left to meet global and continental development targets, African governments are shifting the way they plan and finance national priorities. The focus is turning toward long-term, integrated planning that links policy ambition with realistic budgeting and resource strategies.

This evolving approach was the focus of a side event at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), co-organized by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), UN DESA and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

The session explored how African countries are applying future-oriented planning methods to address persistent financing challenges and accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063.

Rather than tackling development bottlenecks in isolation, participants stressed the importance of systems thinking, looking at the broader structures that give rise to gaps in infrastructure, development financing and social spending. Linking planning with budgeting, implementation and institutional capacity was presented as essential for making better use of limited resources

“Long-term planning pushes countries to think beyond the immediate, ensuring that development strategies are more adaptive, coordinated and resilient,” said Nassim Oulmane, Chief of the Green and Blue Economy Section at ECA.