Latin America and the Caribbean make progress in the fight against hunger and malnutrition

Under the premise “We are all accountable”, the SUN Civil Society Network of Latin America and the Caribbean has met in Quito, Ecuador, to address the challenges related to hunger and malnutrition and to plan a roadmap. Civil Society Alliances from eight countries participated in the meeting: El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. A public forum on early childhood and nutrition was also held with experts from Colombia and Chile, and national youth coordinators from four countries participated to learn and strengthen the Network’s capacity for action.

According to the FAO report “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023“, 30% of the world’s population suffers from moderate or severe food insecurity, even though the world produces enough food for its entire population. Some 3.1 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, which has not only increased the figures for undernutrition, but also for malnutrition (obesity and overweight). Meanwhile, we waste a third of all the food we produce.

Participatory public policies to address hunger and malnutrition

The EU4SUN programme for cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean on hunger and malnutrition seeks to build participatory public policies that open dialogue with civil society. For this reason, the programme has organised a workshop to identify the degree of knowledge and ownership of the nutrition commitments by Civil Society Alliances and to promote dialogue on the progress and challenges in the process of achieving the commitments.

In addition, a “World Café” was organised around the main progress and challenges regarding nutrition commitments as Civil Society Alliances and regional planning was discussed through an open dialogue to define how EU4SUN can support the Civil Society network.

In addition, the workshop allowed participants to briefly share their thoughts. Under the premise of “we are all responsible”, each participant wrote one word that encompassed their personal commitment to advance their country or regional commitments. Time, Commitment, Focus, Experience and Heart were some of the contributions to the challenge of ending hunger and malnutrition in all its forms.

The programme believes that as it navigates the complex challenges of reshaping food systems, it is imperative to monitor and evaluate the actions and commitments of all stakeholders.