Addis Ababa, April 5, 2022(Walta) – The launch of the Global Hunger Index report in Ethiopia is important and timely to provide opportunities to reflect on the challenges faced in tackling food insecurity and malnutrition in Ethiopia towards improving sustainable food systems in conflict settings, experts said.
The Global Hunger Index report in Ethiopia, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) in collaboration with Alliance 2015 was launched yesterday.
Ministry of Health Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Director and Chair for National Food and Nutrition Technical Committee Dr.Meseret Zelalem said that conflict, drought, and COVID-19 pandemic impact hampered the food and nutrition security in Ethiopia.
As to her, the report provides evidence, key examples, and recommendations that really support the government and development partners to share approaches and create conducive conditions for food systems transformation and food and nutrition security in conflict settings.
“The Global Hunger Index report measured and tracked the progress of global, regional, and national level designed to create awareness and understanding of the changes on upholding food security and nutrition as well as provides a way to compare levels between countries and regions,” she said.
For his part, Ministry of Agriculture and Horticulture Development Sector State Minister Meles Mekonnen said that since 2000 Ethiopia’s Global Hunger Index score has decreased by 29.4 points, a decline of 55 percent.
Based on the current global hunger index score of 24.5, Ethiopia ranks 99th out of 160 countries, he said.
The Ethiopian government has developed the Ethiopian food system processing in November 2020 with the objective of ensuring the fight against food insecurity and malnutrition, according to him.
Accordingly, high-ranking government officials, development partners, and pertinent stakeholders, among others attended the launching ceremony of the report, the Ethiopian Herald reported.