The FAO report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia 2017, has revealed food insecurity, nutrition problems in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region.
Malnutrition problems are on the rise in ECA region
The countries of Europe and Central Asia have made good progress reducing the prevalence of undernourishment, but some 14.3 million women and men in the region are still not getting the food they need and malnutrition problems are on the rise, according to the report.
The report analyzes a range of food security and nutrition indicators to assess the countries’ progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) by 2030.
After tremendous progress in recent years, the situation in the region now reportedly appears to be stagnant. The prevalence of undernourishment remained almost unchanged in the Caucasus and Central Asia according to the report.
Tajikistan has highest prevalence of undernutrition in ECA region
The report notes that Tajikistan has the highest prevalence of undernutrition in the region. In 2014-2016 it is estimated that 30.1 percent of the population of Tajikistan (or more than 2.6 million people) were undernourished.
The report notes that child undernourishment remains a more severe problem in Tajikistan, and the prevalence of both underweight and wasting are higher than the prevalence of overweight.
Meanwhile, last year’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, published by five UN agencies, stresses that conflicts, climate change and economic shocks are the major factors contributing to the rise of global hunger, affecting 815 million people worldwide.
The report gives updated estimates of the number and proportion of hungry people on the planet and includes data at global, regional, and national levels.
In Tajikistan, the prevalence of undernourishment reportedly decreased from 41.5% to 30.1% during the period 2004-2016, while the number of people affected has slightly decreased from 2.8 to 2.6 million.
Agrarian sector integral part of many ECA countries’ economies
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia 2017 report notes that the agrarian sector is an integral part of many of the ECA countries’ economies.
The share of GDP that agriculture creates reportedly varies from approximately 4 percent in the Russian Federation to 27 percent in Tajikistan.
In the non-EU ECA countries, employment in agriculture is the highest in Tajikistan with 58 percent of the total labor population working in agriculture,
According to the report, Tajikistan has the lowest GDP per capital rate in the ECA region. In 2015, the gross domestic product per capita in Tajikistan was reportedly recorded at only 933 U.S. dollars.
Food insecurity
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia 2017 report notes that the new methodology shows that 14.3 million adults in the region suffered from severe food insecurity during the period 2014-16.
According to the report, 2.1 percent (about 1 million people) of population of Central Asia’s nations were severely food insecure over the report period.
FAO analysts say poverty remains the single, most important obstacle to food security.
