Giving Compass' Take:

• A UN report has identified the extent of Asia's undernourishment problem and the work that will need to be done to achieve SDG 2: Zero Hunger. 

• How can funders work to fulfill the nourishment needs of communities? 

• Read about addressing hunger through philanthropic partnerships. 

Three million people in the Asia Pacific region must be lifted out of hunger each month, over the next decade if the region is to meet Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG) of zero hunger by end 2030, says a new UN report.

While “substantial advances” have been made in the region towards eliminating hunger and malnutrition, nearly half a billion people in the Asia Pacific remain undernourished, said the report, released 11 December by four UN agencies.

“There is increased awareness of the dangers of obesity,” David Dawe, senior economist for UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and an author of the report, tells SciDev.Net. “[That] is a good thing. However, we must also be sure not to forget about the large numbers of people who still suffer from undernutrition.

In 2018, an estimated 77 million under-five children in Asia Pacific were stunted and 32.5 million children suffered from wasting, the report noted. Stunting rates exceeded 20 per cent in a majority of the region’s countries, said the report, which was jointly released by FAO, the UN Children’s Fund, World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.

Read the full article about undernourishment in Asia at Eco-Business.