On World Food Day 2020, Two competitions for children and youth in Egypt

Marking World Food Day 2020, which comes this year under the slogan "Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together. Our Actions are our Future", a number of United Nations organizations in Egypt are launching two competitions; one for children and  another for youth.

The two competitions draw attention to the fact that food is the essence of life and the basis of our cultures and societies. Maintaining access to safe and nutritious food has been and will remain an essential part of the response to COVID-19, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable, as they are the ones who have been most affected by the pandemic and its economic consequences.

The "Children's Competition for World Food Day 2020" will be a full day of fun and different activities organized to commemorate World Food Day on 22 October, in addition to learning about many interesting topics related to our daily lives and  emphasizing the importance of reducing food waste. The title “Food Saver Heroes” will be awarded to the winners of the competition, which will be open to children from 10-14 years old.

For more information and details about this competition: https://bit.ly/36avFsd

It is important now more than ever, that we recognize the need to support our heroes: food champions - farmers and workers across all sectors of the food system - who strive to get food from farm to table, even in the midst of the unprecedented disruptions caused by the current COVID-19 crisis.

The World Food Day 2020 Youth Competition is meant to encourage young people to spread awareness about the importance of food in our lives, the need to follow a healthy diet that contributes to a healthy life, the importance of social participation by volunteering with food banks or community kitchens, and encouraging the cultivation of food at home while promoting respect for food champions and the importance of reducing food waste.

The youth competition is open to young people aged 18 to 35 and requires participants to submit awareness messages in various formats by October 18.

For more information and details about this competition: https://bit.ly/2GfdQgC

Our future food systems must provide affordable and healthy food for all and provide decent livelihoods for those working in the food sector, while preserving natural resources and biodiversity, and countering challenges like climate change.

The United Nations Organizations who setup these two competitions as part of activities commemorating World Food Day 2020 include the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), UNICEF, the World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), in addition to the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.

It’s estimated that the global economy is suffering USD 3.5 trillion in annual losses due to the impact of malnutrition in all its forms - undernutrition and deficiency of micronutrients, in addition to overweight and obesity. Nearly 690 million people are suffering from hunger, an increase of about ten million people since the beginning of 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic could add between 83 and 132 million more to this number, depending on the economic growth scenario.