AFRICA – In a collaborative effort to address food insecurity across the continent, African Parliamentarians and key stakeholders have launched the Pan-African Parliament Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security.
This Model Law aims to provide comprehensive legislative patterns and clauses to guide African Union member states in creating sound legal and institutional frameworks to promote and protect food and nutrition security and the right to adequate food.
The development of the Model Law is the result of a partnership between the Pan-African Parliament, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and other partners.
This initiative follows the signing of the first Memorandum of Understanding between FAO and the Pan-African Parliament in 2016. Subsequently, the Pan-African Parliament established the Pan-African Parliament Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition to advance parliamentary action against hunger and malnutrition.
Commitment to ending hunger
Dr. Abebe Haile-Gabriel, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, praised the launch of the Model Law as a testament to the ongoing commitment to end hunger and malnutrition in Africa.
He highlighted the partnership’s efforts in providing technical assistance, capacity development, awareness-raising, and policy dialogue.
“Our technical and legal experts have designed several tools dedicated to topics such as agrifood systems, nutrition, gender, land tenure, responsible investments in agriculture, and school meals, among others. These resources are available online, and I encourage you to utilize and share them with your colleagues,” said Dr. Haile-Gabriel.
H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the Pan-African Parliament, emphasized the need to prioritize and intensify the fight against hunger on the continent.
He pointed out that other regions, despite facing serious climate challenges, manage their food security better.
“In our continent, we have everything for our sustainability when it comes to producing our food, but we are failing,” he stated. Chief Charumbira urged parliamentarians to move towards domestication of the Model Law and thanked FAO and other partners for their support.
Addressing critical challenges
PAP Legal Counsel, Clement Mavungu, noted the timely introduction of the Model Law amidst challenges related to climate change, desertification, and food production.
“The Model Law comes at a critical moment where the world, particularly Africa, is facing challenges related to climate change, desertification, food production. The Model Law proposes to Member States an instrument that can respond to current challenges,” Mavungu said.
The urgency of the Model Law is underscored by rising hunger rates in Africa. After steady improvement between 2000 and 2010, hunger has increased.
Over a billion people in Africa cannot afford a healthy diet, with an estimated 868 million people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity in 2022.
More than one-third of these individuals—342 million people—are severely food insecure. In Central, Eastern, and Western Africa, over two-thirds of the population faces moderate or severe food insecurity.
Call to action
Kysseline Cherestal, Legal Officer in FAO’s Development Law Service, welcomed the enthusiasm surrounding the Model Law’s launch and called for its swift implementation.
“I join participants in a call to seize the moment and ensure that the model law is implemented so its content becomes a reality for every African man, woman, and child,” said Cherestal.
FAO remains dedicated to supporting the domestication and popularization of the Model Law, reinforcing its commitment to improving food and nutrition security across Africa.
The launch of the Model Law coincides with FAO’s exploration of arrangements to organize the Third Global Parliamentary Summit against Hunger and Malnutrition in 2026 in Africa.
This follows the adoption of the Global Parliamentary Pact against Hunger and Malnutrition, a historic document representing a commitment to the progressive realization of the right to adequate food and the transformation of agrifood systems.
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