The SDGs provide a long-term, non-partisan framework for a more sustainable vision of urban development that provides equal opportunities for all inhabitants, promotes healthy living environments with access to green space, and is resilient in the face of everyday disasters and climatic hazards.
Goal 2: Zero Hunger
Sustainable Development Goal 2 is about creating a world free of hunger by 2030. In 2020, between 720 million and 811 million persons worldwide were suffering from hunger, roughly 161 million more than in 2019. Also in 2020, a staggering 2.4 billion people, or above 30 per cent of the world’s population, were moderately or severely food-insecure, lacking regular access to adequate food. The figure increased by nearly 320 million people in just one year. Globally, 149.2 million children under 5 years of age, or 22.0 per cent, were suffering from stunting (low height for their age) in 2020, a decrease from 24.4 per cent in 2015.
The number of people going hungry and suffering from food insecurity had been gradually rising between 2014 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis has pushed those rising rates even higher and has also exacerbated all forms of malnutrition, particularly in children. The war in Ukraine is further disrupting global food supply chains and creating the biggest global food crisis since the Second World War.
After decades of a steady decline, the number of hungry people (as measured by the prevalence of undernutrition) slowly began to increase again in 2015. Current estimates indicate that about 690 million people worldwide suffer from hunger, or 8.9 percent of the world's population, an increase of about 10 million people in one year and about 60 million in five years.
The world is not on track to reach the goal of zero hunger by 2030. If recent trends continue, the number of hungry people will exceed 840 million by 2030.
According to the World Food Program, about 135 million people suffer from severe hunger, mainly due to human-caused conflicts, climate change and economic downturns. The COVID-19 pandemic could now double that number and add 130 million more people at risk of severe hunger by the end of 2020.
At the same time, a profound change in the global agri-food system is needed if we are to feed more than 820 million hungry people and the 2 billion more people who will be living in the world by 2050. Increased agricultural productivity and sustainable food production are crucial to help alleviate the risks of hunger.
València, through its Smart City Office, is working to improve the quality of life in urban environments, following the SDG roadmap for a more balanced and equitable urban development.
