MDGs to SDGs – new goals, same gaps: the continued absence of urban food security in the post-2015 global development agenda

The food goal for SDGs is flawed through its neglect of the urbanisation of food insecurity in Africa and of the nutrition transition

Abstract

Hunger and food insecurity have held prominent positions in the framing of both the Millennium Development Goals and the succeeding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper argues, however, that the food goal proposed within the SDGs is flawed in its approach towards achieving food security through its neglect of the urbanization of food insecurity in Africa and of the nutrition transition. The paper argues that these misalignments reflect a limited appreciation of the nature of food and nutrition insecurity in Africa and one that serves the interest of particular sets of development agendas.

This work is part of ‘Governing Food Systems to Alleviate Poverty in Secondary Cities in Africa’ project supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the UK Department for International Development.

Citation

Jane Battersby (2017) MDGs to SDGs – new goals, same gaps: the continued absence of urban food security in the post-2015 global development agenda, African Geographical Review, 36:1, 115-129, DOI: 10.1080/19376812.2016.1208769

MDGs to SDGs – new goals, same gaps: the continued absence of urban food security in the post-2015 global development agenda

Published 18 August 2016