Humanoid robots already attend at hotel front desks and serve molecular gastronomy dishes, a certain multimillionaire plans to colonize planet Mars, sophisticated spas for pets are inaugurated and there are those who light their cigarettes using lighters with so much gold and sapphires that they cost more than a Ferrari... meanwhile, world hunger reaches levels of the most absolute shame.

This is confirmed by the latest Report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) published in late July by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The fact is that this “Zero Hunger”, conceived within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030, seems to be a distant utopia. So much so that, every day, 733 million people go to bed hungry, and this is equivalent to 36% more than a decade ago; at the same time that, for three years now, moderate or severe food insecurity has prevailed globally.

More than a third of the world's population, some 2.8 billion people, cannot afford a healthy diet, which is equivalent to saying that even if they consume enough calories, they don’t obtain the necessary nutrients, sometimes even to survive. The majority of these people, 71.5%, are obviously concentrated in low-income countries.

This is indicated by the aforementioned report, whose statistics and considerations confirm that the issues of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition – more than issues, they are a pain, an anguish – continue dramatically stagnated.

The data collected in the FAO report reveal that hunger and its related side effects continue to increase, especially in rural areas where extreme poverty prevails.

In particular, women, young people and indigenous peoples are disproportionately affected, and what a paradox when these groups should potentially be sources of creation, generation and respect for the best life.

But there are the little numbers and inferences looming: by the end of the decade, 582 million people will suffer from chronic undernourishment, more than half of them in Africa. The global prevalence of low birth weight and childhood overweight has also stagnated, while anemia has increased among women aged 15-49.

Amidst all these premonitory numbers, it’s a brief ray of light to know that Latin America and the Caribbean are among the regions that are countering the global trend. In this area, in 2023, hunger decreased for the second consecutive year and some 4.3 million people stopped suffering from it.

However, experts clarify, progress in the region was uneven and food insecurity remains high, to the point that 41 million continue to suffer from hunger, and malnutrition continues to affect millions.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, progress was observed, with a reduction of 4.3 million people who stopped suffering from hunger, but these advances are neither uniform nor sufficient.

There are still 41 million people who suffer from hunger in the region, and malnutrition continues to be a serious problem that affects millions.

Among the main reasons for the world's stomach ache - only as a trend because there are very well and healthily fed people - the UN agency points to conflicts, climate variability and extreme weather events, as well as economic slowdowns and recessions.

It mentions, without ranking it among the first, “high and persistent inequality”, and next to it lists the existence of unhealthy food environments.

But this time the FAO annual report focuses above all on why the needed policies and investments to transform agri-food systems have not been implemented as planned.

They point out as the main reason for this significant omission financing and financial inclusion, which constitute, they say, “one of the means of achieving the SDGs and require a more constant political commitment”.

No surprise there, hence, the countries where the highest levels of food insecurity and forms of malnutrition are recorded, are precisely those with the least access to financing.

The document itself states that there’s no clarity as to what funding would be needed, but the deficit “could amount to several billion USD” and, if not resolved, the consequences will be huge and will require, in turn, “more than several billion dollars” to solve what would be unleashed in terms of social, economic and environmental consequences. Like a snake biting its tail.

Only six years to go until the deadline for compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals, and within them the “Zero Hunger” goal, the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition remains standing and with hardly any progress. But, for a single life, it’s worth continuing to insist, and FAO is doing so this time by calling for a more comprehensive, multidisciplinary perspective in the financial approach to the matter.

As a complement to this approach, the FAO's deputy director general and regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mario Lubetkin, stated in an interview with Prensa Latina that "it’s urgent to adopt comprehensive public policies and practices that promote healthy eating and well-being from an early age, to avoid greater long-term consequences and consolidate more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems."

There are certainly other alternatives, beyond the competences of FAO, and it would be up to humans to try and put them into practice, in addition to those listed above, because, as the FAO says, "A world without hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition is a world worth saving..."

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff