Seven United Nations organizations have released the latest data on hunger in Europe and Central Asia, tracing the links between better water management, sustainable agriculture and food security.
If people in Europe and Central Asia want to have food on their plates, they need water security. Moreover, water security is a catalyst for transforming the region’s agri-food sector to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. Sustainable water management practices are therefore key to making farmers climate-resilient and thus food secure. This is the key message of the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2024, published today.
Covering the geographic region of Europe and Central Asia, the report measures the progress of countries in the region towards achieving the goals of ending hunger, ending food insecurity and reducing all forms of malnutrition by 2030 and calls for accelerated action to achieve these goals. The central theme of the 2024 edition of the report – water security – highlights the linkages between the water sector and agriculture, food security and nutrition.
Seven United Nations organizations have joined forces to produce the “Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2024“: 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 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“By promoting cooperation, we aim to accelerate efforts to end hunger in the region, restore health and ensure water security. Our organizations will support governments and engage new partners to align policies at national and regional levels and find sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the region.”
The joint statement was made in the foreword to the report by Viorel Gutu, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative; Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia; Cornelia Radić, WMO Regional Director for Europe; Dina Saleh, IFAD Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe; Tatiana Molcean, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UNECE; and Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
Persistent food security challenges
While countries in Europe and Central Asia continue to have lower prevalence rates of hunger and food insecurity than the world as a whole, a number of countries continue to face challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition, although the extent of these challenges varies across countries and is influenced by income levels, the impact of different socio-economic factors, climate risks and conflicts, including the ongoing war in Ukraine.
While the prevalence of undernourishment globally remained at 9.1 percent in 2023, in the Europe and Central Asia region the rate has remained below 2.5 percent since 2005. However, in Central Asia in particular, about three percent of the population, or 2.3 million people, have inadequate energy intake.
The proportion of people who do not have sustainable access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food is somewhat higher. About 11.5 per cent of the population of Europe and Central Asia – 107.2 million people, about 1.5 million fewer than the year before – were moderately or severely food insecure in 2023. The number of people living in conditions of severe food insecurity also declined, from 25.8 million in 2022 to 24.5 million in 2023.
These two indicators – the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity, as measured by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, and the prevalence of undernourishment – are used to monitor progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 2 (zero hunger) worldwide, but also take into account other perspectives and additional data to ensure the estimates are reliable and relevant.
Over the past two decades, the region has come much closer to achieving the targets for stunting and wasting in children under five. In addition, anaemia affected a significantly lower percentage of women aged 15-49 in the region (18.8 percent), well below the global average (29.9 percent).
Countries in Europe and Central Asia are facing a rising prevalence of adult obesity, which affected more than 20 percent of the population in 2022, exceeding the global average of 15.8 percent. In addition, although the prevalence of overweight in children under five years of age continues to decline, reaching 7.1 percent, it was still higher than the global average of 5.6 percent in 2022. In addition, about 64.3 million people in the region – 6.9 percent of the population – could not afford a healthy diet in 2022, although this is well below the global average of 35.4 percent.
Water security for agriculture, food and nutrition
In terms of water governance, this report moves beyond the global discourse that often focuses solely on “water scarcity” to address water security, including drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, availability, water efficiency, quality and regulation. The report examines the complex interdependencies between water security and food and nutrition security, some of which are mutually reinforcing and others that are in conflict.
The report identifies key challenges to water security across the region, including deteriorating water infrastructure, increasing climate variability and change, growing water pollution, poor water governance, complex transboundary water cooperation, and gaps in water data.
Countries with high levels of water stress are likely to have much higher water consumption and lower water-use efficiency in agriculture. Demand for more water-intensive animal products (such as beef, chicken, eggs, and milk) is growing in many developing countries in the region, increasing overall water requirements for food production.
“The analysis shows that higher-income countries tend to have better water availability,” said Tamara Nanitashvili, FAO senior policy officer and lead author of the publication. “The report shows relatively low levels of food insecurity in the region, even in water-poor countries. However, inadequate access to safe water and sanitation in rural areas may contribute to the relatively modest nutrition gains in Central Asia and the Caucasus.”
The report says that countries in Europe and Central Asia should (and are) developing water strategies that match their needs. In this context, transition countries urgently need assistance in water management, especially in water-stressed regions, as well as investments in water conservation, recycling and reuse. The report also recommends that countries reduce the water footprint of national agriculture and improve transboundary cooperation to manage water more efficiently.
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