Africa's food security: Malnutrition and obesity

Abstract

Food security in Africa is characterized by pronounced regional aspects, with the largest number of hungry people living in sub-Saharan Africa. The continent accounts for a third of all hungry people in the world, and this indicator demonstrates an upward trend in recent years. At the same time, a significant part of the population suffers from obesity. This alarming twofold nature of the food problem on the continent is rooted in poverty and a high degree of social stratification, insufficient economic growth, low productivity of agriculture and food industry, lack of investments in these sectors of economy, military and other conflicts, climate shocks, etc. The article explores the current trends of this problem at the international, continental and national levels. Attention is paid to the inclusiveness vector of food systems, taking into account the need to introduce advanced innovations, including digital ones, into agriculture and the food industry. Special attention is focused on the tracks of food systems transformation according to the official representatives of African countries at the UN Summit held in September 2021. The need to attract investments in sectors of the economy, not only involved in food production, but also capable of providing employment to eradicate the extreme poverty and, as a consequence, malnutrition is emphasized. The desire of a number of African states to reflect in their national programs intention to increase the production of agricultural raw materials and food, and to develop intra-African and global cooperation to enhance the resilience to climate change is positively assessed. Such intentions are in line with global concepts of transforming food systems to eradicate hunger.