Near East and North Africa – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2021

The 2021 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition provides an update on the progress made in the Arab States towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets related to hunger, food security and nutrition, as well as the 2025 global nutrition targets set by the World Health Assembly (WHA).

Data presented in this report show that the Arab States face significant challenges in achieving both SDG target 2.1, ensuring regular access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for all people, and SDG target 2.2, ending all forms of malnutrition. Previous editions highlighted the fact that the region had been off track to achieve hunger and nutrition-related SDG targets even before the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is still too early to assess precisely the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nutrition, the deteriorating food security situation suggests that a greater number of people face difficulties in accessing a healthy diet, which will have negative implications for their nutritional status.