Beirut, 25 April 2025-- As hunger deepens, inequalities widen, natural resources dwindle and climate shocks intensify, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is calling for urgent, transformative action to fix the Arab region's inefficient food systems in a new flagship report on "Assessing Food Systems in the Arab Region".
The newly launched report unveils an innovative framework to understand the Arab food systems landscape, enabling policymakers to make informed decisions and implement targeted interventions to improve food security, reduce inequalities, enhance resilience and promote sustainability in the region.
The findings paint a stark picture of underachievement in all six food security dimensions of availability, access, utilization, stability, agency and sustainability. Among the core indicators, as of 2022, more than one third of the Arab population faced food insecurity, 13.5% suffered from undernourishment, and almost one in three was obese. Children and women are particularly affected, with one in five of children experiencing stunting, and one third of women living with anaemia. These figures exceed global averages and highlight the region's urgent need for food system reform.
"These figures are not just statistics-they are a wake-up call," said Chief of Food and Environment Policies Section at ESCWA Reem Nejdawi. "Arab food systems are not only fragile-they are not inclusive nor inefficient. We must urgently rethink how we produce, distribute, access and utilize food if we are serious about achieving the Sustainable Development Goals," she added.
The report offers a comprehensive evidence-based framework tailored to the region's unique challenges that can no longer be ignored, and outlines an Arab Food Systems Assessment Tool, which evaluates food systems based on outcomes such as food security and nutrition and the attributes of inclusivity, resilience and sustainability.
"This tool is a game-changer," Nejdawi underscored. "It equips Arab countries with a clear, data-driven roadmap that assist to protect the most vulnerable, build food systems that work for everyone, and secure the future of food in our region.
One of the region's most pressing vulnerabilities is its reliance on imports. The Arab region currently sources over 61% of its wheat-its most consumed staple-from a handful of global suppliers.
In the same realm, ESCWA convened the third preparatory meeting on food systems in the Arab region on 16 and 17 April 2025, in collaboration with the United Nations Food Systems Coordination Hub, FAO-RNE, WFP Regional Office and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. National food systems coordinators shared progress, lessons learned, and ongoing challenges. The meeting concluded with key messages that will feed into the second United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4), scheduled for July 2025 in Addis Ababa.
