Around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, equivalent to one in eleven people globally and one in five in Africa, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report published today by five United Nations specialized agencies.

The annual report, launched this year in the context of the G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty Task Force Ministerial Meeting in Brazil, warns that the world is falling significantly short of achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, Zero Hunger, by 2030.  The report shows that the world has been set back 15 years, with levels of undernourishment comparable to those in 2008-2009.

Despite some progress in specific areas such as stunting and exclusive breastfeeding, an alarming number of people continue to face food insecurity and malnutrition as global hunger levels have plateaued for three consecutive years, with between 713 and 757 million people undernourished in 2023—approximately 152 million more than in 2019 when considering the mid-range (733 million).

Regional trends vary significantly: the percentage of the population facing hunger continues to rise in Africa (20.4 percent), remains stable in Asia (8.1 percent)—though still representing a significant challenge as the region is home to more than half of those facing hunger worldwide —and shows progress in Latin America (6.2 percent). From 2022 to 2023, hunger increased in Western Asia, the Caribbean, and most African subregions.

If current trends continue, about 582 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030, half of them in Africa, warn the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO). This projection closely resembles the levels seen in 2015 when the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted, marking a concerning stagnation in progress.

The report highlights that access to adequate food remains elusive for billions. In 2023, around 2.33 billion people globally faced moderate or severe food insecurity, a number that has not changed significantly since the sharp upturn in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those, over 864 million people experienced severe food insecurity, going without food for an entire day or more at times. This number has remained stubbornly high since 2020 and while Latin America shows improvement, broader challenges persist, especially in Africa where 58 percent of the population is moderately or severely food insecure.

The lack of economic access to healthy diets also remains a critical issue, affecting over one-third of the global population. With new food price data and methodological improvements, the publication reveals that over 2.8 billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2022. This disparity is most pronounced in low-income countries, where 71.5 percent of the population cannot afford a healthy diet, compared to 6.3 percent in high-income countries. Notably, the number dropped below pre-pandemic levels in Asia and in Northern America and Europe, while it increased substantially in Africa.

While progress has been made in increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates among infants to 48%, achieving global nutrition targets will be a challenge. Low birthweight prevalence has stagnated around 15%, and stunting among children under five, while declining to 22.3%, still falls short of achieving targets. Additionally, the prevalence of wasting among children has not seen significant improvement while anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years has increased.

Similarly, new estimates of adult obesity show a steady increase over the last decade, from 12.1 percent (2012) to 15.8 percent (2022). Projections indicate that by 2030, the world will have more than 1.2 billion obese adults. The double burden of malnutrition – the co-existence of undernutrition together with overweight and obesity – has also surged globally across all age groups. Thinness and underweight have declined in the last two decades, while obesity has risen sharply.

In a concerted effort to address the pressing financial challenges facing developing nations, finance and foreign ministers from around the world convened in Addis Ababa this week, calling for sweeping reforms to the international financial architecture. The meeting, part of the First Preparatory Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, focused on bridging the financing gaps essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urged the global community to channel substantial investments towards sustainable development in Africa and beyond.

Nearly a decade after the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the United Nations reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing sustainable financing strategies. Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the urgent need for reform in a video message, highlighting the daunting challenges posed by soaring debt burdens and high capital costs that hinder developing countries’ capacities to finance their development agendas.

“The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development provides a unique opportunity to tackle these challenges head-on,” Guterres stated. He emphasized the need for ambitious reforms to deliver affordable long-term financing and to adapt an international financial system he characterized as “outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair.”

The ongoing repercussions of recent global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and economic volatility, have significantly widened the SDG financing gap, which now amounts to a staggering USD 4 trillion annually for developing countries. This funding shortfall, coupled with escalating debt issues, has exacerbated poverty and inequality, jeopardizing global progress towards the 2015 targets.

“This meeting provided an opportunity to assess the necessary steps we must take to fill the financing gaps and meet the development needs of all people around the world,” remarked Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and Secretary-General of the FfD4 conference. He urged a departure from conventional methods, advocating for a significant reshaping of the international financial system to ensure investment is directed where it is most needed.

During the meeting, ministers and international experts proposed reforms aimed at enhancing global tax regulations and establishing new mechanisms to address sovereign debt crises, including frameworks for managing instances of sovereign debt default.

“The international financial architecture created nearly 80 years ago needs reform to respond effectively to the pressing challenges faced by African nations,” stated Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. “African countries are asserting leadership and calling for changes to global tax and financial systems that support their sustainable development ambitions.”

The Preparatory Committee meeting was attended by representatives from at least 103 countries, including policymakers, multilateral development banks, United Nations entities, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. Almost 800 participants engaged in discussions covering a broad spectrum of financing issues, such as debt, taxation, trade, private investments, development cooperation, and technology.

This five-day meeting marks the first of four preparatory sessions leading up to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), scheduled to take place in Sevilla, Spain, in 2025. The UN General Assembly has mandated these preparatory meetings to facilitate enduring reforms of the international financial system.

Future sessions of the Preparatory Committee are slated for New York in December 2024, with additional meetings scheduled for February and April 2025. As part of the preparatory process, a multi-stakeholder hearing will also be held in New York in October 2024, furthering the global dialogue on enhancing sustainable financing mechanisms for developing countries.

In comparison to the previous quarter, the external debt decreased in the third quarter of the just-ended budget year, while the direct advance (DA) has increased by more than 50%, which is not in line with the government’s policy.

In comparison to the previous quarter that closed in December 2023, the foreign debt stock decreased by 0.5 percent over the given period.

The Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) quarterly debt bulletin, which examined the debt stock for the first nine months of the 2023/24 budget year, showed that as of March 30, 2024, the foreign debt stock was recorded at USD 28.389 billion, down from USD 28.537 billion in December last year.

The debt stock decreased by USD 148 million in the third quarter, which ended on March 31, 2024, although it climbed by 0.5% when compared to the amount at the end of June 2023, the conclusion of the 2022/23 budget year.

As of June 30, 2023, the debt stock was over USD 28.25 billion.

As of March 31, 2024, the government-guaranteed and non-guaranteed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) owed 20.2 and 9.3 percent of the nation’s external debt, respectively, with the central government holding 70.4 percent of the debt.

“As per usual, IDA accounted for the majority of the total amount of external public sector debt disbursements, which totaled USD 994.63 million between July 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024,” the MoF bulletin said.

The budget year’s third quarter saw just USD 314 million distributed. The quarterly report states that less foreign financing has been disbursed recently than it has in the last two years.

“SOEs have not received a new loan in the last four years and are disbursing less and less for their older projects as they near completion and the amount of money disbursed to them decreases, as well as less disbursement from our Chinese creditors,” it reads, with Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) being the only exception.

The principal, interest, and fees for servicing foreign public sector debt were USD 812.8 million between July 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024.

The central government contributed USD 418.19 million (USD 313.25 million principal and USD 104.94 million interest) toward the overall servicing of the external debt, while SOEs, mostly EAL, paid USD 394.61 million.

Unlike the previous several years, the inflow has exceeded the outflow for the first two quarters in a row.

Recall that the government received a debt servicing halt from China and Paris Club countries for the budget year.

As of March 31, 2024, the total domestic debt stood at 2.12 trillion birr, up 10.47 percent from 1.91 trillion birr on June 30, 2023.

According to the statement, “SOEs hold 39% of the total domestic public debt, with the central government holding the remaining 61 percent.”

As of March 31, 2024, the stock value of the recently introduced domestic debt instrument had reached 80.26 billion birr.This debt instrument was launched in compliance with Directive No. MFDA/TRBO/001/2022, which requires all commercial banks to purchase a five-year treasury bond at 20% of their new loan disbursement.

The directive was issued in late 2022. In comparison to the previous quarter, the sum rose by over 14.6 billion birr; moreover, it grew by 110 percent, or 42 billion birr, from the June 2023 level. On June 30, 2023, it was 38 million birr.

As of June 30, 2023, the total outstanding amount for direct advance was 130 billion birr. That amount had climbed to 197 billion birr on March 31, 2024.

The government decided approximately a year ago to cap the rise of the DA at a third of the level of the previous year.

Nonetheless, compared to the end of the previous budget year, the DA has climbed by 51.5 percent, or 67 billion birr, in the first nine months.

The DA grew from 167 billion birr on December 31, 2023, to 197 billion birr in a single quarter. The governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia, Mamo Esmelealem Mihretu, said in August of last year that the MoF and the bank had established an understanding to use the DA facility only in the event that the market is unable to generate enough Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds.

The overall amount of outstanding Treasury Bills climbed by 13.5 percent to about 388 billion birr on March 31, 2024, from 342 billion birr on June 30, 2023, according to the most recent MoF debt report.

Due to inadequate funding from outside partners over the last four years, the government has been compelled to turn inside, especially to DA, in order to close the budget shortfall.

Three local loan instruments, T-bills, Treasury Bonds, and DA, have yielded 155 billion birr to the government throughout the specified time.

The total amount of domestic and overseas public sector debt climbed by 3.9 percent to USD 65.8 billion on March 31, 2024, from USD 63.3 billion on June 30, 2023.

“This is because the public sector’s external debt climbed by 0.5 percent, while domestic debt increased by 6.7%,” the report said.

At the reported period, public sector debt accounted for over 40.3% of nominal GDP, with external debt accounting for nearly 17.4%. “Both percentages are much lower than the debt sustainability thresholds for low-income countries, which are 40% for external debt and 55% for total public sector debt in a medium debt carrying country.”