Women, food insecurity and climate change

FOOD is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism. Men women and children across the globehas equal right to nutritious food. And they must have access to it.  But it is totally unacceptable that every minute, 11 people die of hunger. Losing 25,000 people to hunger every day.Around 10 million people die every year of hunger and hunger-related diseases. About one billion peopleregularly go to bed hungry! Among those --poor women and children are more than men.

Women are deprived of optimal food even normal food unnecessarily due to someavoidable reasons. Unfortunately, women still are not recognized as human beingsby some of the ignorant,unawarecommunities in the society. Some narrow- mindedpeople illogically treat the women as second-class citizens.  Some empty-headed, stupid men think that women are inferior to men and men are superior to women. There are many life-threatening discrimination, imbalance, misinformation, misbelief, superstitions and violence that women face since they are born. So, we must put an end to those harmful practices against women soon. Otherwise, all the efforts for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of all the nations will go in vain.  

Research shows that women are the key to food security. It is estimated that women produce approximately 60-80 percent of food in the world.
Yet irony of fate (?) for being women, more women suffer from food insecurity than men! Because women face income inadequacies at adisproportionately higher rate than men. Women and their families are at much greater risk of food insecurity than the average population.The main objective of the SDGs of the United Nations "No one is left behind" set for 2030 will be impossible to achieve if a single woman or child go to bed hungry.  It is an inevitableglobal shame that even in this 21st century, at the so-called civilized age, people die of hunger! On the other hand, countries are engaged in wars include Russia and Ukraine--spending trillions of dollars in purchasing weapons! So where is that foresighted daring United Nations to say, stop wars, end hunger, establish peace, save valuable lives and livelihoods of millions of people.

In fact, women are neglected when it comes to eating, often eating less and only in the end after the family has consumed the meal. There are gender norms leading to unequal distribution and consumption of food by women in households. Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated women's nutrition security and food consumption.Globally, about 60 percent of people who go hungry are women. Tackling gender inequities would also improve the household capacity to adapt to climate change.

Food insecurity and malnutrition are interlinked with the extreme weather events worldwide. In particular the drought has been affecting nations badly the countries in South Asia and Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China among other countries facing drought, floods, cyclones and other worst impacts of climate change. Those calamities and disasters are making the people vulnerableand food insecure. In 2050 the population of the world will be around 10 billion. Sohow to feed the increased number of hungry people and ensure food security for all must be the prime Goals and targets in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All the stakeholders, state governments and development partners must work through longtimeintegrated plans and projects.

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), Thailand, and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a Nepal -based, globally reputed intergovernmental think tank recently organized an online event titled Second Regional Knowledge Forum on Drought and Climate Services for Food Security and Agricultural Decision Making in South and Southeast Asia. I joined the event and learned a lot about drought, food insecurity and climate change.

Considering all the issues experts observed that there are multiple challenges to overcome.  Engagement of stakeholders is important. Soil moisture and precipitation deficiency, data accessibility and availability required to address.  Drought reduces the yields of land, and agriculture drought is complex. So,to identify and select perfect policy to fight the challenges are crucial.

Reduce food losses and waste as the zero hunger is the top priority. Climate smart, climate resilient and drought resilient agriculture is a must. Taking the drought, gender and social inclusion, gender gaps and gender equality, research and development are very important to work on. Overcome gender-blind approaches. Drought is a major issue, so drought monitoring needs to include in the project to implement with comprehensive and holistic approaches. Misinterpretation and disinformation are to be avoided. Early warning and early actions are critical to prevent drought, food insecurity, natural and human-made calamities.

Regarding climate change, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has estimated that developing countries' annual climate change adaptation costs may reach $140bn-$300bn by 2030, with much of these agriculture-related. At present, only around four percent of adaptation funding ($345m in 2016) is earmarked for smallholders.Marginalized communities including women will suffer most as food and water become less available. Health risks increased, and their lives and livelihoods are jeopardized. Achieving gender equality and women's empowerment in food systems will result in better food security, nutrition and climate change adaptation.
The writer is a radio storyteller, poet, journalist, author and activist in Bangladesh