Challenges for Zero Hunger (SDG 2): Links with Other SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ratified by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, embody a set of 17 objectives designed to address the world’s most urgent challenges. SDG 2: Zero Hunger is intricately linked with all other SDGs, aiming not only to eliminate global hunger but also to collectively achieve the broader spectrum of all other SDGs. In this context, it becomes imperative to address and resolve issues encompassing poverty, health, education, inequality, and climate change in a comprehensive manner, while fostering equitable development. SDG 2: Zero Hunger centers on the elimination of hunger and malnutrition, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, and enhancing productivity and incomes for smallholder farmers and food producers, particularly in developing nations. Accomplishing these targets hinges on the development of resilient food systems and the promotion of innovative agricultural technologies, including those geared towards climate resilience. SDG 2: Zero Hunger encounters multifaceted challenges arising from climate change impacts, rapid urbanization, and the imperative to foster sustainable agricultural practices while reducing disparities. These challenges are inherently intertwined with the goals of the broader SDGs framework, necessitating cooperative efforts, innovative approaches, and concerted actions to guarantee global food security and establish a sustainable and equitable future for all of humanity. This book chapter underscores the undeniable direct and indirect links of SDG 2: Zero Hunger with the entire spectrum of SDGs, substantiated through tangible examples, but also the deficiencies and slow pace of progress. It also underscores the significance of a holistic and integrated approach, emphasizing the need to address SDG 2 and its complementary objectives in a synergistic manner, thereby facilitating tangible and lasting progress towards a more promising future.