Our focus at HLPF 2022 is to share our eight calls to action developed by members in reflection of the Sendai Framework Mid-Term Review – and integrate the voice of civil society on localisation and risk-informed development.
Becky Murphy, GNDR Policy Lead and UNDRR Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism (SEM) Co-Chair is representing GNDR at the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York from 5-12 July 2022.
These are the key messages coming from key sessions in day two of the conference:
The state of food security and nutrition in the world (SOFI) 2022
- 8% of the world population will face hunger in 2030 – the same as 2015 when the 2030 agenda was launched; 828 million faced hunger in 2021
- The war in Ukraine has intensified food insecurity challenges – disrupting supply chains and pushing up prices of grain
- Food insecurity is predicted to increase by 13 million in 2022 and then by 19 million in 2023; more people will be undernourished
- Eradication of world hunger is not on track and malnutrition remains a significant challenge
- Intensification of food insecurity is being driven by increasing stressors and crises such as conflict, climate change and economic shocks
- We need to think differently and act boldly
- Post-Covid fiscal space must be focused on addressing food insecurity and inequality
- We must not forget women and girls; women have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19
- We must live in harmony with our planet
- A whole of systems approach is required
- Africa is bearing the heaviest burden – 1 in 5 people in Africa faced hunger in 2021
- We have not seized the political space and opportunity of post-Covid to build back better and address the global food crisis
- Policy coherence is essential for resilience going forward into the second half of the 2030 agenda
- We must scale up investment in long term sustainable development today, so that when the next global crisis hits we are better prepared and more resilience
- Resilience is crucial to the SDGs in the second half of the 2030 agenda
- The gender gap in food insecurity between 2020-2021 grew wider
- Inequality in gender has increased in food insecurity
- International development finance will be needed for low and middle income countries to tackle this
- Governments need to rethink how they can reallocate their existing public budget to make healthy diets more affordable, along with sustainability and leaving no one behind
- It is the three C’s that the most vulnerable and marginalised are suffering from – conflict, climate change and Covid-19
- We must protect small scale farmers
- We must involve women and youth
- Food insecurity also has an impact on security and conflict- it destabilises peace and intensifies tension and conflict
- Link to session
Acting at local level
- This session addressed the key question: How can we bolster local action to achieve the SDGs and respond to Covid-19? What can we learn from the increasing number of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and inform VNRs?
- Covid proved that people and economies can change and change fast – but do we need a global crisis to do this?
- We need to bring the talks to action for the SDGs
- Local level implementation of the SDGs and VNRs
- We need to foster local knowledge and support local and regional governments to jointly achieve the SDG targets
- Importance of involving youth
- We need to make sure we work with, as well as for, our communities, including youth
- Grassroots communities are already working hard to achieve the SDGs; local-level, grassroots groups must be recognised and brought into leadership
- All stakeholders must work together to achieve the SDG targets
- Governance is crucial: we need dialogue from the local level systemically feeding into the governance dialogue; when we have the people with us, we have an easier job
- Link to session
Impact of conflict and crisis on education and gender: lessons from Afghanistan and Ethiopia
- Session hosted by the Malala Fund
- These two countries’ hard-earned gains are now at serious risk due to waves of crises – from Covid to conflict
- Afghanistan is now the only country in the world to prohibit girls’ education, doubling the number of girls out of school at the secondary level and has cost Afghan girls more than 200 million days of learning to date
- An estimated three million boys and girls across Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions in Ethiopia have been deprived of their right to education since November 2020 due to the war
- Covid and conflict have created a perfect storm for a rise in gender-based violence and harmful practices, like child marriage
- Civil society organisations, the UN and the global community must continue to put pressure on duty bearers in conflict affected states to ensure the protection of women and girls’ rights
- Education is seriously underfunded in the humanitarian context
- We urgently need gender responsive policies in place
- Girls must have a meaningful space to engage at global spaces and the Malala fund will be supporting girls to create this space and engage in decision making
- Link to session
Additional GNDR bilateral meetings and places to connect
- GNDR connected with the NGO Major Group in preparation for the NGO Major Group day on Friday 8 July
- If you are here at HLPF the NGO Major Group are holding daily briefings for NGOs in room F at 8am each morning