Policy Recommendations (2022)

The 2022 GHI reflects both the scandal of alarming hunger in too many countries across the world as well as the changing trajectory in countries where decades of progress in tackling hunger is being eroded.

These recommendations highlight the need to respond to current emergencies while also transforming food systems so they are more equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient—and thus are able to avert future crises.

1. Put inclusive governance and accountability at the center of efforts to transform food systems.

   • Governments must respect, protect, and fulfill the right to food, which should be enshrined in national law and supported by mechanisms for redressing grievances. All actors, from citizens to regional and international organizations to courts at all levels, should contribute to holding governments accountable.

   • It is vital that governments strengthen inclusive coordination of food and nutrition policies at all levels. In particular, government planning and budgeting processes should take into account existing power imbalances and prioritize the voices of the most vulnerable and crisis-affected groups and constituencies. Support must be directed to inclusive food governance bodies, such as food councils and other multi-actor platforms.

   • Governments must review, implement, and monitor their food systems commitments, including the national pathways launched at the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, in an inclusive way and with an emphasis on accountability and governance at all levels.

   • At the global level, governments should strengthen the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) so it can deliver on its mandate as the central multilateral, inclusive global policy coordination platform.

2. Ensure citizens’ participation, action, and oversight, and consider the local context.

   • Stakeholders at all governance levels must harness local voices and capacities. Communities, civil society organizations, small producers, farmers, and indigenous groups, with their local knowledge and lived experiences, should shape how access to nutritious food is governed; their capacities and good practices should be supported, including in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

   • Strong local leadership is pivotal to the sustainability of local food systems interventions and should be fostered by, for example, building the capacity of local officials or encouraging local champions— especially women.

   • To enable oversight, governments and development partners need to raise citizens’ awareness of their entitlements and of pathways to food and nutrition security. Citizens require a clear understanding of food systems activities and relevant processes, as well as guaranteed access to data and information, so they can track government performance and enforce their rights.

   • Efforts to strengthen governance must be tailored to conditions and capacities on the ground, given the diversity of local government settings. National governments should devolve responsibilities to lower administrative units and raise and allocate resources that enable local authorities to understand and carry out their responsibilities for local food and nutrition security.

3. Scale up resources to address pressing humanitarian needs, while transforming food systems to make them resilient to shocks.

   • The international community needs to mobilize greater public support, increased investment, and more diverse sources of funding in order to meet escalating humanitarian needs, while at the same time scaling up essential resilience-building efforts. The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) and subsequent international fora must deliver commitments to accelerate food system transformation for all.

   • In countries suffering from protracted crises, governments and development partners must use early warning systems and flexible contingency funds to anticipate shocks and quickly respond to them. Initiatives such as the Global Network Against Food Crises should be supported to ensure earlier responses using evidence-based interventions.

   • Against the backdrop of global food security pressures, governments should avoid ad hoc reactions such as export restrictions. Rather, they should consider the use of food import facilities to ensure that food price increases do not lead to increased hunger, social unrest, or conflict.

   • In situations of conflict, actors involved in humanitarian, development, and peace-building activities must come together to jointly analyze and respond to the needs of conflict-affected people. This approach will link the practical management of people’s immediate needs with attention to their long-term livelihood needs, while also promoting reconciliation and peace building.