Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on the Food Insecurity in Iran and the Achievement of SDGs

An important part of sustainable development goals is poverty reduction and achieving food security. Despite the importance of this issue, food insecurity has been recognized as the most serious public health problem in the world for the past two decades. This chapter is conducted in two parts. First, studies related to food insecurity, the impact of COVID-19 on food insecurity, and the goals of sustainable development have been reviewed, and then an experimental study has been performed to determine the extent, depth, and severity of food insecurity in Iran. The results of the systematic review show that food insecurity is a major problem in most countries and that the pandemic of COVID-19 has different effects on food insecurity in the world. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on global food security, which is one of the goals of sustainable development. In the second part, the results of food insecurity indicators related to access to calories and protein required by the body in Iran using the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) index show that food insecurity has had an upward trend in recent years, so that the prevalence of food insecurity in urban areas is higher than rural areas. The results also show that food insecurity has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. According to the results of the present study, it is suggested to support vulnerable populations against food insecurity through safety nets and food-based intervention program, consider policies such as food price stabilization, maintain economic status and food security, organize subsidy in order to support food consumption and mitigate the negative effects of malnutrition, and ultimately monitor food insecurity of households in urban and rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic.