New York - (Saba):
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) called for immediate and radical action to reform dysfunctional food systems in the Arab region, noting that more than a third of the region's population faced food insecurity by 2022.
In a new report, "Assessing Food Systems in the Arab Region," the commission revealed a decline in performance across all six dimensions of food security: availability, access, utilization, stability, impact, and sustainability.
ESCWA stated in its report, according to the UN News website, that 13.5 percent of the region's population suffered from malnutrition, and one in three suffered from obesity.
It noted that women and children were the most affected groups, with one in five children suffering from stunting, and one in three women suffering from anemia.
The committee proposed a tool to assess food systems in Arab countries based on several factors, including food security and nutrition, as well as criteria for inclusiveness, adaptability, and sustainability.
ESCWA explained that the most prominent challenges facing the region include its heavy dependence on imports, with Arab countries currently importing more than 61 percent of their wheat needs from a limited number of global suppliers.
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