Enhancing the evaluability of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2): "End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture"

The United Nations Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) successfully organized a joint technical seminar on “Enhancing the Evaluability of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) to End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture.” Held at IFAD on 17 and 18 November, the seminar allowed the Evaluation Offices of FAO, IFAD, WFP and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) to begin the process of benchmarking and evaluating the ambitious goal of SDG 2 that will positively impact millions of people.

The 17 new SDGs build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), credited as being the most successful anti-poverty movement in history: learning from this experience, the UN recognizes the importance of good data collection and evaluation in achieving the SDGs.

“Data alone are becoming a huge topic of discussion,” said WFP Chief of Staff Jim Harvey in a speech alongside the other high-level reps at the event’s plenary session.

Compared to the MDGs, the purpose of data collection will need to be clear, and data consistent and of high quality. Although the SDGs will focus on national ownership, the problem of capacity gaps was captured, as national monitoring and evaluation systems vary country to country.

Partnership is another crucial aspect of the SDGs: WFP’s Office of Evaluation will begin a phased approach to demand-led decentralized evaluation (as per the 2016-2021 WFP Evaluation Policy), a major objective of which is the enhancement of both collaboration and capacity development at country and regional levels.

Participants left the event ready to build upon the two-day discussions with continued, informed brainstorming about concrete actions for rigorous evaluation work to contribute towards making zero hunger a reality.

In addition to complete video coverage of the event, the RBAs plan to release a technical paper covering results and outcomes of the seminar. Click here for more information.