Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security Date in the current year: October 30, 2023

The main objective of many African states is to reduce poverty, eradicate food insecurity and severe undernutrition. Regarding this, African Union heads of state gathered in July 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique to proclaim and sign the Declaration on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program. The declaration obliged the governments to find solutions for starvation and malnutrition-related problems in their countries. But despite the declaration, the situation continued to worsen. In 2012, only a few countries on the continent witnessed a slight improvement in this sector.

In October 2010, the African Union Summit in Kampala, Uganda designated October 30 as Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security. This observance was established to attract new commitments to achieve the ultimate goal of ending hunger in Africa. Currently the governments of African states do their best to end hunger by 2025; this goal was declared during the famous meeting on ending hunger in Africa that took place on June 30 and July 1, 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Every year the AU Summit chooses a special theme for Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security to highlight the most important issues of hunger in Africa. The events facilitate strengthening countries’ engagements to secure food and nutrition agenda and consolidate political commitments to end hunger.