FAO and WFP reaffirm their commitment to reducing hunger in Myanmar

FAO and WFP reaffirm their commitment to reducing hunger in Myanmar
by -
Mizzima

On World Food Day, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) marked their partnership with the Government of Myanmar and reaffirmed their commitment to reducing hunger, according to a press release on October 16.

“Thanks to Government efforts supported by FAO and WFP, significant progress has been achieved in fighting undernutrition in Myanmar in recent years. In 1990, 62 percent of the population was undernourished, compared to just 14 percent today, which means that Myanmar achieved the Millennium Development Goal of halving hunger by 2015,” according to the press release.

This year, Myanmar is one of many countries that agreed at the UN in New York to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – a comprehensive list of 17 ambitious targets to end poverty and inequality by the year 2030. These include Global Goal 2 – Zero Hunger: “To end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.” In 2015, Myanmar launched a new National Multi-Sectoral Action Plan for Food and Nutrition Security (2016-2026), which will serve as a platform for the coordination of efforts to achieve zero hunger and strengthen food and nutrition security governance in the country.

But despite these achievements, there is still much work to be done. More than 26 percent of the population, or 13 million people, live below the poverty line in Myanmar, and close to three million people are considered food poor, spending a high percentage of their limited income on food. One in three children are chronically malnourished, which has consequences for their physical and mental development for a lifetime, the FAO and WFP report.

More news from Mizzima
A resident carries belongings over debris next to a damaged building in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake in central Myanmar. Photo: Sai Aung Main/AFP
April 1, 2025
A powerful earthquake inflicted severe damage on key junta ministry offices in Naypyidaw,...
This UGC photo taken and posted by Hla Myo Aung on Facebook on March 28, 2025 shows a damaged building in Sagaing, following an earthquake. (Photo by Handout / Courtesy of Facebook user Hla Myo Aung / AFP)
March 31, 2025
According to the Committee Representing Sagaing Hluttaw, the March 28 earthquake destroyed about...
March 27, 2025
Decreasing water levels in Inle Lake, located in Nyaung Shwe Township, Southern Shan State, are...
Thai military personnel stands guard overlooking the Moei river on the Thai side, near the Tak border checkpoint with Myanmar, in Thailand’s Mae Sot district on April 11, 2024. Myanmar junta troops have withdrawn from a major trade hub near the Thai border following days of clashes, an ethnic armed group told AFP on April 11, 2024, dealing a further blow to the embattled military. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)
March 26, 2025
A source from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) has reported that the Karen National...