Figure: In the Europe and Central Asia region the estimated number of moderately or severely food-insecure people declined by 4.1 percent (or 4.7 million) between 2021 and 2022 to 111.1 million people. ©©FAO/Victor Sokolowicz.

FAO News 13/12/2023

Budapest, Hungary – With less than seven years left until the deadline, Europe and Central Asia are making progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 of Zero Hunger, including tackling food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition, despite serious challenges experienced in the past few years. Even though the average cost of a healthy diet has increased in the region, the number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet has declined in 2022.

These and more have been revealed by the 2023 edition of the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia, published today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the custodian agency for SDG 2 ‘Zero hunger’.

The report also notes that in the past years, the pandemic, conflicts, weather extremes, and natural disasters have made it more difficult to improve food security and nutrition. Still, since 2000, the prevalence of undernourishment in the Europe and Central Asia region has been below 2.5 percent. The estimated number of moderately or severely food-insecure people declined by 4.1 percent (or 4.7 million) between 2021 and 2022 to 111.1 million people.

In 2022, four out of the seven subregions, including Central Asia, the Western Balkans, and the Caucasus surpassed the regional average of 11.9 percent in the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity. On another note, estimates show that women are more prone to be moderately or severely food insecure than men. This trend is consistent at the global level as well.

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