scholarly journals Unlocking the potential for achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 – ‘Zero Hunger’ – in Africa: targets, strategies, synergies and challenges

Author(s):  
Prudence Atukunda ◽  
Wenche Barth Eide ◽  
Kristin R. Kardel ◽  
Per Ole Iversen ◽  
Ane C. Westerberg

Background: The UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (‘Zero Hunger’) aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Thus, a range of different strategies are needed to facilitate the achievement of SDG 2 to overcome challenges and enable synergies between various SDG targets. Objective: The aim of this review is to highlight Africa’s progress toward SDG 2, including targets, strategies, synergies and challenges. Methods: We scrutinized published research articles in peer-reviewed journals, UN reports and in-country Africa reports (between 2015 and 2020) that were relevant to the current topic. Results: Several hunger indicators are showing slow progress or even deterioration in Africa. The prevalence of undernourishment in the general population was 19.1% in 2019 and is expected to increase to 25.7% by 2030. Improvements in child stunting in several regions in Africa are slow, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where about 34% of under-fives were stunted in 2012 and 31% in 2019. In Eastern Africa, stunting prevalence decreased from 38% in 2012 to 34% in 2019. Major drivers of hunger are poor governance and state fragility, war and conflicts, increasing inequality, weak economic development, climate change, biodegradation – and now lately the Covid 19 pandemic – factors that all increase food insecurity. Conclusion: Africa is off track to reach SDG – ‘Zero Hunger’ – by 2030. Current efforts and progress are insufficient. Africa must champion the SDG agenda on a national, regional and global level to facilitate synergies to unlock the potential for reaching ‘Zero Hunger’ throughout the continent.

Author(s):  
Thelma Zulfawu Abu ◽  
Elijah Bisung ◽  
Susan J. Elliott

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) is a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Women and girls suffer the main burden of a lack of access to WaSH because they are primarily responsible for collecting water for their homes. However, they are often excluded from WaSH decision-making and implementation processes. This research sought to explore women’s experiences in participating in WaSH decision-making through a case study in Nyanchwa, Kenya. Twelve (12) key informant interviews were conducted with community leaders and members regarding challenges and possible measures for enhancing women and girls’ participation in WaSH decision-making. From this research, it is evident that economic challenges and cultural factors such as male dominance, greatly inhibit women and girls’ participation in WaSH decision-making and implementation processes. Other factors such as time constraints and low literacy rates also emerged. The paper concludes with a call for collaboration among women’s groups to enhance collective action for improved access to WaSH. This will undoubtedly lead to enhanced community health and wellbeing (Sustainable Development Goal 3, SDG3) through the empowerment of women (Sustainable Development Goal 5, SDG5).


Author(s):  
C. Langhans ◽  
A. H. W. Beusen ◽  
J. M. Mogollón ◽  
A. F. Bouwman

AbstractPhosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for life. In many tropical countries, P-fixing soils and very low historical P input limit uptake of P in crops and thus yields. This presents a serious obstacle for achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 2.3 of doubling productivity in smallholder farms. We calculated the geographic distribution of P limitation (1 – actual/potential P uptake) and the P input required to achieve this SDG target by 2030 in comparison to the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP2) scenario for five world regions where smallholder farms dominate. To achieve target 2.3, these regions require 39% more P application (126 Tg) between 2015 and 2030. While P limitation is most widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, it is the only region on track to achieving the doubling of productivity in the SSP2 scenario (increase by a factor of 1.8). Achieving the target requires a strong increase in P input, while protecting soils and waterways from excessive P runoff.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Langhans ◽  
Arthur Beusen ◽  
José Mogollón ◽  
Alexander Bouwman

Abstract Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for life. In many tropical countries, P-fixing soils and very low historical P input limit uptake of P in crops and thus yields. This presents a serious obstacle for achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 2.3 of doubling productivity in smallholder farms. We calculated the geographic distribution of actual over potential P uptake (P limitation) and the P input required to achieve this SDG target in 2030 following the shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP2) scenario for five world regions where smallholder farms dominate. To achieve target 2.3, these regions require 39 % more P application (126 Tg). While P limitation is most widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is the only region on path to achieving the doubling of productivity (increase by a factor of 1.8). Achieving the target requires a strong increase in P input, while protecting soils and waterways from excessive P runoff.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5967
Author(s):  
Molly E. Brown

Substantial investment from both the private and public sectors will be needed to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2), which focuses on ending poverty and achieving zero hunger. To harness the private sector, high quality, transparent metrics are needed to ensure that every dollar spent reaches the most marginalized segments of a community while still helping institutions achieve their goals. Satellite-derived Earth observations will be instrumental in accelerating these investments and targeting them to the regions with the greatest need. This article proposes two quantitative metrics that could be used to evaluate the impact of private sector activities on SDG2: measuring increases in yield over baseline and ensuring input availability and affordability in all markets.


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