Bonjour, Good morning everyone.
Today's Friday, the 26th of September.
It's International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
And in connection with that day, today there is a high level meeting to commemorate and promote the total elimination of nuclear weapons in New York, part of the GA Week, 10 AM New York time.
It will begin with an opening statement by Annelina Baerbach, the President of the General Assembly.
There'll be a statement by Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, and we'll have that for you later.
Also today, in addition, of course, to day four of the general debate at the at the Assembly, the Security Council resumes its high level open debate on artificial intelligence, which began yesterday.
Speaking of yesterday, the Secretary General was speaking at the meeting of G20 foreign Ministers.
Among other things, he noted that when violence erupts, capital fleas, services collapse and poverty deepens, and when development falters, social contracts fray, institutions weaken and instability follows, and climate change intensifies the pressure at every turn.
So on the subject of development, we're very happy today to have with us the chief Statistician of FAO, the Food and Agriculture of the Organisation of the United Nations.
They yesterday released a report that assesses progress on 22 indicators that on Food and Agriculture that spans 6 sustainable development goals.
And I'm going to let you decide together with our guests today whether whether the glass is half full or half empty on, on the, on the development agenda for the, for the Food and Agriculture indicators.
So Jose Rosero, Moncayo, I give the floor to you.
And if you'd like to introduce your colleague as well.
Thank you very much and good morning to to everyone.
I am here with my colleague, Dorian Navarro from the Statistics division of FAO.
So we are five years away from for the end of the 23rd Sustainable Development Agenda and the clock is ticking on meeting the SDGS according to its mandate.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has released the latest edition of its biennial report entitled Tracking Progress on Food and Agriculture Related SDG Indicators, which offers a critical look at how much we have progressed so far on the Food and Agriculture related SDG targets.
This report sheds light on which areas have achieved the most progress and which have seen a deterioration and can therefore serve as a guide for galvanising efforts on those objectives and in those regions lagging furthers behind.
The findings presented in the report are quite troubling.
According to the report, only about 1/3 of the 22 indicators under FAO custodianship have registered some improvement and the world is close to achieving only one quarter of the relevant targets, while only while another quarter remains far or very far from completion.
Now going deeper, let me present some highlights of this report.
In terms of global food security, this remains far above 20, the 2015 level.
About 20, which is nearly 2.3 billion people, were moderately or severely food insecurity in 2024, compared to 21.4% in 2015.
Meanwhile, an estimated 8.2% of the global population may have faced hunger.
Now between 2019 and 2023, only 65% of women of child bearing age achieve minimum dietary diversity, with the figure having deteriorated since 2015.
The report also shows that the small scale food producers earn less than half of what their non scale non small scale counterparts make, while while women face significant disparities in land ownership.
The report also also shows that the number of animal genetic resources securing conservation facilities has increased compared to previous years, yet still only represent a fraction of the local and transport during livestock breeds.
Going to the objectives related to water, the report finds that water stress is a major problem in certain regions, with Western Asia and Northern Africa grappling with severe water scarcity.
On SDG 14, there is a growing trend towards the adoption of international instruments combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Nonetheless, the proportion of global fish stocks with biologically sustainable levels has continued to decrease, dropping to 62.5% in 2021, down from 90% in 1974 on SDG 15.
While the world forest area continues to diminish, falling from 31.9% in 2000 to 31.2% in 2020, the rate of decline has slowed compared to previous decades.
Now, given these results, we need to redouble our efforts to achieve food security, improve nutrition and sustainable agriculture while ensuring the sustainability of our natural resource base.
While the report benefits from the highest availability of data on the Food and Agriculture related data indicators, today, there are also persistent data gaps that continue to hamper a global monitoring.
With only five years left in the 2030 Agenda Horizon, this is a key challenge and indeed there have been repeated calls for increasing investment in data, which includes the UN Secretary General Pack for the Future Digital Compact and the most recently Sevilla commitment on financing and development.
I encourage all of you to read the new FAOSDG Progress Report and let me close by emphasising that the FAO is committed to making all the efforts to rescue the SDGS and delivering on our collective promise for people on the planet.
Thank you for your attention.
My team and I are here during the morning and we will be happy to to answer any questions about it.
Yes, thank you very much.
So in addition to Jose, we have here Dorian Navarro who's a statistician at FAOI.
See that we have a hand up from John Zarcostas.
John, the floor is yours.
Sarah Costas for The Lancet in France 24 English Channel.
I was wondering, so if you could give us some more insights on how you're estimating these figures.
And I'm interested in particular on the figure of 82% of the population of the world might be facing hunger.
Is it based on data from FAO staff on the ground in correlation with national ministries in these countries or is it extrapolations from models?
Thank you very much for for that, for that question indeed.
So FAO collects data from different type of sources, but we give a lot of prominence to the data coming from country members.
In the case of food, food insecurity and hunger, what we do is we have different type of indicators in order to measure food, food insecurity.
Let me start for that, from that and in the context of the SDGS, there are two specific SDG indicators to to measure hunger and food insecurity.
The first one is the indicator that is called the prevalence of undernourishment, which measure basically the percentage of people that habitually do not have sufficient caloric consumption, energy caloric consumption according to the requirements that they need.
And the figure that I that I show of 8.2% of global population that may face hunger refers to that specific indicator.
Now in order to put it together, we combine different type of formation coming from country members.
The one type of information is the one that is called food balance, food balance, food balances, food balance sheets.
That basically what it does is that estimates the availability of energy, caloric energy that exists in an specific country and even in a given year.
In order to do that, you need information of how much food is produced in the country.
You need information of trade, OK, because of course in order to to measure availability of food, you need to you need to estimate how much food is available in the in the country and for that you have to deduct imports, for example.
So trade is very important.
You need information of stocks that are available and you need information of how much is basically put for seeds or to feed animals.
So again, a lot of information is very that intensive, but this is information that countries provide to FAO.
Apart from that, we have to have an idea as well on the on, on how much food is is accessed by by people.
Because one, one thing is to have food available.
Another thing is that people have access to that food.
And for that we compute parameters coming from coming from household surveys that allow us to estimate which is the degree of inequality in the access to food.
These household surveys are also coming from official data.
And here I have only talked about one of the two SDG indicators.
The second SDG indicator that that we have compute the total population in food insecurity in different levels of severity.
While the first indicator that I explained that it was about hunger was tackling or is basically aiming to measure the most severe condition of food insecurity, OK.
The second indicator measures food insecurity in levels that are beyond hunger, OK, but it's still very much problematic because it conditioned the access of food, the population.
Here I'm referring to the indicators that are measured by the food insecurity speeding scale.
That is an experience based instrument that again is collected in every single one of the countries.
And FAO works together with the countries to introduce this type of question, this type of models inside of their own household service.
I hope that I answered the question with that.
I just sometimes it's useful, particularly for people who are working with audio to go over some of the basics.
I know that you're, you know, your work is, is is is goes drills down deep on the statistics and the analysis.
But I think we have a request if you could just briefly just explain that extinction between food security and hunger, OK, The best way of explaining that is to imagine food insecurity in, in and some, some sort of a scale right in which you can in mind that you have different levels of severity of, of, of food of food insecurity.
Let's start with the most severe case, OK?
When people do not have access to sufficient food in order to be able to, to, to to even have the minimum requirements that they need to have a life, a healthy, a healthy life, that is what we call a hunger, OK?
So it's the most severe condition and that is what it is measured by the the indicator of the prevalence of the nourishment.
But then food insecurity doesn't stop in in hunger.
There are other levels of severity that are very much important in terms of policy of policy making.
That basically explains a situation in which the even if the population is not suffering from hunger, they they still find problems to access to food.
There are several conditions on that.
For example, people that right now they have uncertainty in in procuring food for their for their houses.
And because of that, they have reduced the amount of meals that they have in a single day, or put it differently, even if they are eating the same amount of times, they have reduced the quantity and even the quality of the food that they have in every single one of these times that that they eat.
So those are also conditions of food insecurity and that is what we call moderate food insecurity.
So the second indicator measures those two conditions, the one of severe and the one of moderate.
I'm looking to see if there are any more questions either online or in the room, perhaps not or not at this stage.
You're welcome to stay where you are if you like, in case there are questions that come up later on.
We also have a number of of our colleagues who are online in case there are questions for them.
It's otherwise a fairly thin programme.
I'm going to just move to announcements, but I see that both John and and Nina have questions.
We'll go to Nina, who's in the room.
Sorry, it's a question for you, Michaela.
There's the Building Bridges conference here and there is John Kerry is here.
We were supposed to have some information about, about the UN involvement and also whether or not there might, we might expect a press conference.
We're supposed to have a bit more information about what to expect next week.
I, I don't have anything on this at the moment.
So if I do, I'll you know, I'll I'll look into it and see whether there's anything that we can tell you about that.
But nothing, nothing further on that on the moment I've got John and then Olivia.
Since you're the in house technical expert, if you could guide us the input that the FAO makes in the IPC classifications and in particular IPC 5 catastrophic hunger or famine.
Thank you for the for the question.
So the indicators that are around the SDGS in terms of food security measure a phenomena of food insecurity that is called chronic food insecurity, OK.
That is an structural condition that speaks about persistent state of food insecurity, OK.
The type of food insecurity that is measured by by tools or methods such as the IPC measure yet another type of food insecurity that is a call or describe acute food insecurity that is related basically with emergencies and we are and it's related with a with a situation that is so severe that threatens the lives and the livelihood of of the population.
So we are talking about two different concepts and we are talking about two different methods and ways to approximate those those concepts.
In the case of acute for insecurity that is basically your, your, your question.
There are specific reports OK that that cover those those topics.
IPC is constantly publishing OK in briefs or country reports that describe different type of conditions, emergency conditions happening in in different countries.
And there is a more global report that is called the global report on food crisis that that describes the condition of acute for insecurity in the most severe food crisis that exist nowadays.
The the later the global report of food crisis was published in April this this year.
And as far as I understand there is a mid term review of that report that was published a couple of weeks ago.
So I would like to refer you to to those reports on that.
Thanks very much, Olivia Reuters.
My question is actually for Tarek from World Health Organisation, please.
Yeah, Tarek I believe is online.
Maybe we can, maybe you can just go ahead and ask your question and then we'll we'll connect with him.
My question please is just for the Who's latest perspective on the health situation in Gaza City and Northern Gaza, an overview of of what you're seeing there in terms of pressure on hospitals.
There's been a number of strikes as well this week and also just perhaps a brief explanation of what kind of pressures also you're therefore seeing in the South as thousands of people flee southwards from the north.
Thank you very much, Olivia, for these questions.
I I think my my colleague Fidola sent you a number of.
Of, of, of latest data on hospitals and attacks.
But I'm happy really to to summarise that, that basically what is happening is that you have displacement orders, it's affected hundreds of health facilities.
And even if hospitals are not asked to evacuate, there is a lack of access, there is a violence just nearby.
And, and that can put them out of out of service.
So, so since September 1st, 4 hospitals in North Gaza and Gaza governorate were forced to shut down.
And this brings the total of functioning hospitals in Gaza to only 14.
And you know, we've been keeping this, this, this tally regularly.
Now these 14 hospitals are including eight in Gaza City, 3IN Dera Belar and three in Han Yunus.
Unfortunately, none of them is functioning at full capacity.
The four hospitals that were put out of out of service TC Children Hospital of Talmic Hospital and Saint John Eye Hospital in Gaza City as well as Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics in North Gaza.
Now Hamad Hospital is one of the main 3 specialised rehabilitation facilities in the Gaza Strip and it was serving 250 outpatients with rehabilitation services.
I think we will have a soon a new update on on on the rehabilitation needs.
So, so stay tuned as that now just a little bit on a tax.
So the majority of latest attacks since the since the incursion to to Gaza City between 7 and 17 September.
So there were 12 attacks that have been reported, including eleven in Gaza City and one in time Eunice and I'm really happy to send all these details in a in a briefing notes.
But what what we are keeping saying is that that, that, that more violence only means more injured people.
It means more casualties, more deaths and, and, and it means less of access.
People in Gaza are suffering from multiple displacement.
There are shortages of medical supplies.
There are issues of access both for humanitarians, for health workers, also for patients.
There are a number of people, thousands of people, over 15,000 people who need to be evacuated for medical reasons.
And evacuations are really going very, very slowly.
So again, we can only appeal for, for a ceasefire, appeal for unhindered access.
So we can try to support what's left of the, of the health system in Gaza with the medical supplies, with, with, with the emergency medical teams, I mean, with everything else.
So this really has to stop.
And, and we are unfortunately coming to, to, to grim a second anniversary of, of, of, of what's happening in Gaza.
And I hope we will, we will hear from, from the ground sometimes next week from Doctor Peppercorn.
But I'm happy to send all these latest daytime numbers in in a briefing notes back to you, Michael.
Tarek, we have a question online from Gabriella Sotomayor.
Could you just please specify who your question is for since we've got several speakers available.
My question is for Mr Roseto, if he can, if he can give us an assessment of the situation in Mexico, please.
Inside of the report, the report that we have published on, on AD GS, you will be able to, to see not only information on the global level, but you're also going to be able to do it at the, at the regional subregional level.
And you can even do it at the, at the, at the country level.
So in that sense, you will be able to see the information that is specific from Mexico there.
And I apologise that I cannot go into the specificity of Mexico because I don't have it in my head, but I invite you to, to, to see the report.
I don't know, Gabriella, whether you have a follow up or whether that's the hand from before.
Well, OK, thank you for your answer.
But well, it, it will be nice to have your voice and image, you know, saying about Mexico, but maybe later we can make an interview, do an interview or something one-on-one.
Maybe I just suggest you take this up bilaterally.
Tariq, you mentioned that one of the facilities that was destroyed I think was the prosthetics hospital.
Are there any facilities now in Gaza dealing with prosthetics?
And secondly, any of the international field hospitals perhaps doing some of this work or not, if you've got any information on that, that would be great.
Or perhaps UNICEF who are listening in can chip in on this one.
I know that you were you were interested in this topic for for for some, some time.
And I'm really happy to ask my colleagues in the in the LPT, my colleagues in the OPT office for, for, for more detailed information.
And I said, as I said, I think we will have a update on on rehabilitation needs.
But let me let me come back to you on, on, on the really details who is providing these service, what is available and what are the needs.
I'm looking online in the room, no questions so far for any of our briefers either on the podium or online.
So we'll, we'll keep this short and sweet.
Today it looks like I'm just going to tell you a little bit about the meetings update as they normally do.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concludes this afternoon.
It will issue it's concluding observation on six countries whose reports have been reviewed during the session.
Those are the Russian Federation, Colombia, Chile, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe and the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances it's 29 session which began on the 22nd of September and is finishing on the 2nd of October at Polly Wilson is today reviewing the report of Sri Lanka.
So I think that we'll conclude it for today.
I think it's been a, it's been a busy week this week and probably we're seeing the, we're seeing the signs of a little bit of tiredness, but I, I, I wish you all a wonderful afternoon and a great weekend ahead.
