A report published by the press office of this world institution, highlights the words pronounced this Monday by the FAO director general, Qu Dongyu, in the opening session of the event, who urged to evaluate the priorities in the interest of “guaranteeing sufficient, nutritious and affordable food for all humanity”.

This 44th edition of the conference, which will run until July 4 at FAO headquarters, “is our global moment: where ambition must match strategy, where innovation must scale up rapidly and where solidarity must translate into tangible actions and solutions,” he said.

In 2023, some 733 million people were undernourished in the world, with stagnation in hunger levels that stabilized for three years and returned to the levels observed in 2008 and 2009, a setback of 15 years, he said.

Food insecurity remains widespread, with about 2.33 billion people at risk of moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023, while, in 2024, 295 million people in 53 countries and territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity.

FAO remains steadfast in its commitment to optimizing capital resources, both physical and intangible, and operational efficiency, to ensure that resources are allocated efficiently and effectively, he stressed.

In line with FAO’s mandate, “we continue to focus on addressing hunger and malnutrition by driving effective policies and actions in agrifood systems to promote healthy diets for all,” the FAO Director-General added.

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