The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from Japan, has enhanced the capacities of stakeholders of four African countries to analyse food security and nutrition data more effectively, to monitor SDG Target 2 using standardised tools that allow comparability.
The four countries are; Angola, Mali, Senegal, and Tanzania.
The project has not only promoted the generation of more timely and accurate data on food security and nutrition but also provided valuable insights into the food security and nutrition situation in the four participating countries.
“Moreover, it has fostered partnerships throughout the implementation process. Ahmad Babagana, FAO Representative for South Africa, highlighted these accomplishments during an event to disseminate the national food and nutrition security reports and assess the project’s achievements,” FAO said.
Masahiro Hosaka, the deputy director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan, expressed said: “It is my hope that the statistical information generated will prove useful in the future, and that the countries will continue utilizing the knowledge and skills gained from this project. The ministry remains committed to contributing to the improvement of agricultural statistics in the African region.
Under the project titled “GCP/GLO/943/JPN – Supporting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2.1 Monitoring by Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition Information in Africa,” over 150 experts from the beneficiary countries received hands-on training in collecting, analyzing, and reporting food and nutrition security data.
They were also equipped with the necessary skills to use STATA, SPSS, and the ADePT Food Security Module (ADePT-FSM) for estimating SDG 2.1.1 (Prevalence of Undernourishment, or PoU), nutrition indicators, and applying the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) to derive SDG 2.1.2 (Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity), as well as interpreting the results and compiling the national comprehensive food and nutrition security reports.
The food and nutrition security reports generated through this project have supplied crucial information for policymakers, enabling them to better comprehend the factors driving food security and malnutrition within their respective countries.
The project brought together experts from the academia and various government departments and advocated for the creation of robust internal structures to monitor the evolution of food and nutrition security in the beneficiary countries.
The collaborative work, coupled with the number of trained experts and the availability of different platforms to analyze the data contributed to the timely analysis of available data.
