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Global Food Policy Report 2024 Latin America and the Caribbean launch: Promoting sustainable healthy diets to address diverse nutrition challenges
Malnutrition stemming from unhealthy diets is a major food systems challenge impacting the health and well-being of people around the world. High food prices, increasing availability of ultra-processed foods, urbanization, climate change, and other trends have contributed to the overconsumption of unhealthy foods while limiting the accessibility of healthy foods.
Echoes of inflation: unpacking the drivers of food prices in Central America
In 2022, Central America experienced significant surge in food prices, a trend that was evident in Honduras. The country saw year-on-year monthly food inflation exceeding 12% from May 2022 to May 2023, with rates surpassing 17% in eight of those months.
In the following lines, we address the underlying causes of the food and fertilizer price surges, and the actions that can be taken to mitigate this situation in Central America.
After a year, India’s rice export restrictions continue to fuel high prices
In July 2023, the Indian government announced export restrictions on non-basmati white rice. Coming after earlier export limits on other types of rice, the action was taken in part due to a strengthening El Niño that threatened to limit rice production and fuel rising food inflation—a potential political liability for the Modi government as it faced upcoming general elections in spring 2024.
Urgent need to strengthen local governance for improved urban agrifood systems
Urbanization is among the major demographic shifts affecting agrifood systems worldwide. With over half of the world’s population living in urban areas—projected to reach 70 percent by 2050—cities face many challenges in providing residents with healthy, affordable food. In fact, of the 2.2 billion people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity, three-quarters live in urban and peri-urban areas.
Evaluating impacts: Lessons from food systems interventions across Africa and Asia
Food systems play an important role in shaping our diets. Recently, there has been growing attention to food systems transformation, which involves changing different components of global food systems to make nutritious foods more accessible to consumers. At the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, more than 100 countries pledged to transform their food systems, a clear recognition of the importance of healthy diets in preventing all forms of malnutrition worldwide.