Nutrition and health funding lacking in global ODA for food systems, says IFAD
MANILA, Philippines — Nutrition and health are not receiving enough support from the global official development assistance (ODA) for food systems, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
During the Asia and the Pacific Food Security Forum organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), IFAD associate vice president Jyotsna Puri highlighted the inadequacy of assistance going into nutrition. Puri mentioned that only nine percent of the total ODA for food systems from 2018 to 2021 was allocated to nutrition and health.
The majority of the funding went to social assistance at 31 percent, followed by agricultural development and value chains at 26 percent, climate change and natural resources at 18 percent, and infrastructure for food systems at 16 percent.
Despite a steady increase in global ODA for food systems, reaching $48.7 billion in 2020 from $40.3 billion in 2018, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in funding to $44.3 billion in 2021.
Puri emphasized the need to enhance the measurement of the impact of development aid directed towards food systems. While current assistance aids in developing agricultural value chains and providing resources to smallholder farmers, the nutrition patterns in targeted areas have not seen significant changes.
IFAD and ADB emerged as top multilateral donors to food systems globally, with IFAD offering $577 million and ADB providing $384 million from 2018 to 2021.
ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa stressed the urgency of addressing food insecurity exacerbated by extreme weather events and geopolitical conflicts. In response, ADB announced $14 billion in financing support by 2025 to help member countries transform their agri-food systems and combat food insecurity.
Asakawa highlighted the importance of strong collaboration for the successful transformation of food systems, emphasizing the need to achieve food security while preserving the planet.
