UAE launches first National Food Loss, Waste Baseline Study
This first-of-its-kind study, which involves 3,000 participants, marks a pivotal milestone in national efforts to halve food loss and waste by 2030, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3.
The pioneering 18-month study will measure actual food loss and waste across the entire food value chain, through the participation of households, businesses, and public sector entities, across all seven Emirates.
The study's findings will be unveiled by ne'ma during the first half of 2026.
Insights from the study will be used to establish national food loss and food waste indices and inform evidence-based intervention strategies.
The study also lays the foundation for systemic change and strengthens national efforts to ensure food security and sustainability.
The study is the result of a coordinated national effort, bringing together strategic partners including the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), Tadweer Group, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Environment and Climate Change Authority (DECCA), and Aldar, with additional support from the local municipalities and authorities, the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC) and local statistics centres across the UAE.
Following extensive preparation and stakeholder engagement since September 2024, the UAE Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study is now underway.
Spanning 18 months, this nationwide effort invites the active participation of households and the private and public sectors to help identify where food loss and waste occur the most and why, so the right interventions can be designed to tackle the issue.
A key milestone in this journey will take place during September 2025, in a focused two-week data collection field survey coupled with actual measurement of food waste at the household level.
Participants across all seven Emirates will take part in shaping a more sustainable future by contributing valuable insights & data on how food is lost and wasted.
The data gathered will be rigorously analysed to develop national food loss and waste indices, which will create a clear baseline that reflects where the UAE stands today so that we can monitor our food loss and waste reduction progress.
Khuloud Hassan Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officer of Emirates Foundation and ne'ma Committee Secretary General, said, "Tackling food loss and waste requires national collaboration, and alignment to create a unified approach and methodology for measuring actual food waste across the supply chain.
"Through the UAE's first National Baseline Study, ne'ma is engaging public, private sector, and community members in building an accurate, data-driven picture of where and how food is lost or wasted. This will enable the UAE to track progress against reduction targets.'
"The evidence-based solutions will empower households and businesses to adopt best practices, support systemic solutions across the value chain, and drive the shift toward a more sustainable, circular economy. The Baseline Study supports the UAE in building capacity so that we can achieve the target of halving food loss and waste by 50 percent by 2030. We are thrilled to see the strong engagement and participation of the private and public sectors in the study,' Al Nuwais concluded.
Dr Essam Sharaf Al Hashmi, Director of the Office of Special Studies, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), affirmed that the launch of this study marks a key milestone in strengthening community awareness of the importance of reducing food loss and waste.
He said, "In line with its pivotal role in promoting food sustainability, ADAFSA is leading dedicated efforts to highlight the challenges of food loss and waste. In collaboration with ne'ma, we are uniting households, the private sector, and government entities to achieve a shared goal-protecting vital resources and ensuring a more sustainable and resilient future for all. This initiative reflects our strong commitment to raising awareness and engaging all stakeholders in addressing the environmental and economic challenges posed by food loss and waste.'
Manal Obaid Yaroof, Head of the Executive Team of the UAE Food Bank, representing Dubai Municipality at the launch, said, "Local leadership is essential to achieving national sustainability goals.
"Dubai Municipality is committed to driving change at the community level, and the UAE Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study provides the knowledge and tools needed to turn ambition into measurable action across all seven Emirates. This effort aligns with the municipality's efforts to enhance waste management, reduce landfill use, and build smarter, more sustainable cities that support the UAE's 2030 goals.'
Abdulwahid Jumaa Freish, Executive Director of Communication and Awareness, Tadweer Group, said, "Tadweer Group is proud to support ne'ma and the UAE Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study, which unites stakeholders across the food value chain to better understand the scale and impact of food loss and waste. This pioneering initiative complements our commitment to transforming waste into valuable resources and driving circular economy solutions. By leveraging the insights from this study, we can strengthen our strategies to divert organic waste from landfills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and unlock new opportunities for reuse, recovery, and resource efficiency across the nation."
Salwa Al Maflahi, Group Executive Director of Sustainability and Community Outreach, Aldar Properties, said, "Aldar recognises the importance of data to support meaningful action and change. Since 2023, we have been working closely with Tadweer and ne'ma to build infrastructure and solutions to tackle all forms of waste, including food waste, with a shared ambition to divert 90 percent of waste from landfills. Food waste is a complex challenge that requires long-term behavioural change, something Aldar and ne'ma are committed to addressing. By contributing to the UAE's Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study, we are helping to generate critical insights that will empower communities across the UAE to take data-informed action and support the country in reaching its 2030 food loss and waste reduction targets.'
The UAE Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study's final report will be shared nationally and internationally, contributing to global knowledge sharing on food loss and waste reduction. In doing so, the UAE reinforces its leadership in advancing the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promoting sustainable food systems nationally and worldwide.
WAM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
26-07-2025
- Middle East Eye
Gaza famine: To be killed by an air strike is easier than watching your children starve
Each morning that dawns over the Gaza Strip brings nothing but more hunger, more collapse and a deepening sense of despair. For more than three months, over two million people have endured an unprecedented catastrophe - a true famine in every sense of the word - amid a merciless war, an unrelenting siege and an unforgivable international silence. Famine in Gaza has become a daily reality. It is no longer merely a sensation of deprivation; it manifests in the sight of people collapsing in the streets from sheer exhaustion. Children, women, the elderly - no one is spared. We have witnessed, with our own eyes, bodies slumping on the pavement and lives lost outside the ruins of bakeries or at aid distribution points that never deliver. The price of a kilogram of flour has surpassed $30, while a kilogram of sugar now costs over $130. Most foods are either entirely unavailable or so scarce as to seem imaginary. The tragedy is not just in the prices, but in the absence of essential goods. People are not simply refusing to buy; there is nothing left to buy. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters There is no oil, no rice, no bread - not even a can of tuna. What appears occasionally might be a handful of red peppers or a bottle of dish detergent - a grim irony in the face of starvation. Famine in Gaza manifests in the sight of people collapsing in the streets from sheer exhaustion Areas deemed "safe", such as northern Rafah or the Qataneh district, have turned into death zones. Starving civilians who head to these locations in search of aid are being targeted. According to the United Nations, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since late May while they were attempting to access food aid. Dozens continue to be killed each day. As former UN aid chief Martin Griffiths warned, this deliberate famine represents "the worst crime of the 21st century". Perhaps the most heart-wrenching image of all was that of the infant Yahya al-Najjar, just a few months old, who died of severe malnutrition. His tiny body was reduced to bones draped in translucent skin - a devastating sight, unfolding in full view of the world, in the heart of Palestine. Unbearable hunger We no longer speak of hunger in the abstract. Hunger is killing us in Gaza, but it is world leaders who should be dying of shame Read More » Children now cry out daily: "We want bread!" "We want to eat!" But no one feeds them. My young cousins, only five years old, wake at dawn begging their father to bring them a loaf of bread, but he cannot afford one. A single loaf has become a luxury. Some fathers have begun to flee their tents, unable to bear the look of disappointment in their children's eyes. I saw a mother praying for her children to die, simply because she could no longer feed them. Some mothers sit at the entrances of their tents, tears falling, whispering broken prayers: "Oh God, please take them... relieve them of this suffering." In the streets, people can no longer walk. They drag their bodies. So extreme is the weakness that their legs can no longer support them. Faces are hollow, stripped of life. The children are skeletal. The men, pale and gaunt, haul their bones in heavy silence. I saw with my own eyes an elderly man, over 70 years old, ask a young man who was eating a piece of bread to share it with him. Has hunger brought us to the point where our elders must beg for a bite? Those of us who are married can no longer provide food for our wives. For months now, I have stopped entertaining the thought of having a child, not out of choice, but because this genocide has made it impossible to imagine a future for them. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza Each morning, my wife asks: "What do we have to eat?" And I answer, swallowing the shame of being unable to protect the person I love: "I'm fasting today." We fast out of despair, not piety. We drink water - when there is any - and deceive ourselves with hope, if only to survive the day. Invented meals Our daily meals are invented out of nothing: lentils mixed with pasta, rice cooked over a wood fire or soup made from nothing but boiled water. We eat, then feel hungry again an hour later. We sleep to escape the hunger, but it wakes up with us. During the day, we grow dizzy. We fall silent. We comfort one another with words. We nap, hoping the pain might ease. I have lost 14kg, and I am still fighting. But what of those with no job? No money? No one to lean on? In the street, under the blazing July sun, a child stares longingly at a vendor selling iced water. A cup costs half a dollar, but no one can afford it. There is no electricity, no fan, no shade - just thirst thick in the air. Someone walks by eating a sandwich, and five or 10 children, perhaps even elderly men, gather around, asking for a bite. It is not greed that drives them, but sheer desperation - because they are human, and hunger has taken everything else. The markets, where they still exist, are empty. Nasser Hospital, the last remaining lifeline in southern Gaza, has become a gathering point for those struggling to survive. There is no medicine or food - nothing but the screams of mothers, the tears of patients and those on the brink of starvation or death. Silent massacre Death no longer frightens anyone in Gaza. For many, it has become a dream. To be killed by shrapnel or an air strike is easier than dying while watching your children writhe in agony from hunger or your wife unable even to stand. Death is no longer the end; it is a release. The world sees and hears, but does nothing, as if our lives are not worthy of living What is happening in Gaza today is not a natural disaster. It is a deliberate famine - a massacre carried out in silence, as people waste away unseen. The population is being starved - slowly, cruelly, by design. At the same time, infrastructure is being destroyed. Hospitals are being bombed. Civilians are being killed as they crowd around aid lorries filled with flour, and the world watches from behind its screens, unmoved by any sense of humanity. This is Gaza now: a city untouched by light, inhabited by people waiting for the end. They do not ask for miracles, just some bread, some medicine and some dignity. The world sees and hears, but does nothing, as if our lives are not worthy of living. We do not write to weep, but to report the truth as it is: Gaza is choking from hunger, drowning in darkness and being annihilated in full view of the world. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Zawya
22-07-2025
- Zawya
Millions risk losing access to humanitarian food assistance amid funding slowdown in South Sudan
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has reached over two million people with life-saving assistance in South Sudan so far this year. However, a severe funding shortfall threatens ongoing support, placing millions at risk of losing aid. Below is an update on food security and WFP operations in South Sudan, including a quote from WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Carl Skau, who recently returned from South Sudan: Food Security Situation Half the population of South Sudan – 7.7 million people – are facing severe hunger. Of these, 83,000 people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger (IPC5) – the highest classification of food insecurity – including: 32,000 people in Upper Nile State where fierce fighting since March has displaced thousands and severely limited humanitarian and Ulang counties in Upper Nile are at risk of deteriorating into famine.39,000 who have returned to South Sudan fleeing conflict in Sudan.A record 2.3 million children are at-risk of malnutrition – with conflict areas in Upper Nile and flood-affected areas such as Bentiu among the most has been achieved where conditions allow for humanitarian access:In Uror county, Jonglei state, all pockets of Catastrophic hunger (IPC5) were alleviated this year as WFP was able to consistently deliver ten other counties where conflict and insecurity subsided, crop production increased - improving the food security peace and humanitarian support are vital to cement these to raging conflict in neighboring Sudan, nearly 1.2 million people have fled to South Sudan since April 2023, many arriving hungry, malnourished and traumatised. WFP Response WFP has supported two million of the most vulnerable people in South Sudan this year, including over 300,000 impacted by the escalation of conflict in Upper Nile. In July, WFP conducted airdrops to access the most remote parts of the Greater Upper Nile region, including areas at risk of famine. To date, we have delivered 430 metric tons of food, and airdrops are ongoing to reach 40,000 people. Vital river convoys on the White Nile River have resumed after access was granted for the first time in months due to fighting. On 16 July, a river convoy carrying 1,380 mt of life-saving food assistance from WFP and other non-food items transported on behalf of the humanitarian community, departed Bor destined for Upper Nile state. River routes are the most cost-effective way to move food assistance at scale in South Sudan where infrastructure is severely limited. The WFP run United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) continues to serve seven destinations in Upper Nile including Maban, Maiwut, Malakal, Mandeng, Mathiang, Renk, and Ulang – providing life-saving cargo and access to the most remote areas. Upper Nile state has been significantly affected by a cholera outbreak. Since March, the WFP-led Logistics Cluster has airlifted 109 metric tons of cholera-related supplies to locations in Upper Nile and Unity states. Funding outlook and challenges Severe funding shortfalls mean WFP can reach just 2.5 million people with regular assistance – only 30 percent of people facing severe hunger - across the country with emergency food assistance. WFP urgently requires US$274 million to maintain support for just the 2.5 million most acutely food insecure through the end of the year – providing only 50 percent rations to these communities in most cases. Further reductions in rations and assistance will be necessary in September if additional funds are not urgently received. Limiting food aid to the most vulnerable families risks undoing recent fragile gains. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).
Khaleej Times
07-07-2025
- Khaleej Times
Fomo in studies? UAE's IB toppers say passion, 'fear of missing opportunities' key to scores
As IB results were announced on Saturday, some UAE students achieved scores that rank them among the top 0.1 per cent of IB Diploma candidates globally. But when asked what got them there, rather than long hours of last-minute cramming, most spoke of purpose, curiosity, and staying true to themselves, even when things were unpredictable. Aanya Khandelwal, a student of GEMS Modern Academy (GMA) and part of the Rahhal programme, was one of the few to achieve the perfect score of 45. But her journey through the IB wasn't typical. While others were in classrooms, Aanya was often representing youth voices at the United Nations. 'I actually worked for the United Nations (UN),' she shared with Khaleej Times, describing a demanding schedule where she regularly missed school. 'Very often I would miss school because, nearly every Thursday, I would have UN calls that I needed to attend. And at least for a month, every semester or so, I would have a UN conference to attend elsewhere.' Balancing global diplomacy and academics might seem overwhelming, but Aanya found a rhythm that worked for her. 'Consistency with many hours of studies is not something that I'd pride myself on… I generally used to study close to test dates,' she admitted. 'I think consistency is something that's more integral with something that is more content based, like biology.' Taking four Higher Level subjects while being on Rahhal pushed her limits, but Aanya said the IB gave her space to grow intellectually and emotionally. 'Subjects like English, literature, politics, economics; a lot of them were interpretive. I was really lucky that my exposure with the UN gave me a deeper understanding. I didn't have to push myself as much when it came to politics, for example, because I already had context.' Staying present in the classroom For Melis Yilmaz, another perfect scorer from Dubai International Academy Emirates Hills, the challenge was more traditional — but no less personal. She is now preparing to study medicine at Imperial College London. 'I took Biology HL, Chemistry HL; those were the hardest subjects for me, yet, I enjoyed them the most and felt less pressure,' she said. Melis wasn't someone who studied endlessly throughout the year. During regular terms, it was a couple of hours a day. 'But four to six weeks before exams, I started studying five to six hours a day,' she said. What helped her most was staying present in the classroom. 'I would emphasise the importance of giving a 100 per cent of your effort during class, because then you have less to revise over in exam times since you understood everything properly the first time around. Also, I had the best teachers who always answered my excessive questions, and made time for me whenever I asked for it,' added the Turkish expat. Unlike many others, Melis found coursework like the Internal Assessments, the Theory of Knowledge essay and the Extended Essay more stressful than the final exams. 'But again, what helped was selecting topics for my coursework which I actually felt interested in,' she said. 'Academic excellence is only possible when you like your subjects and feel passionate about the fact that there is so much knowledge in the world and you want to get to know as much as you can.' Excel sheet to track revision progress At DIA Al Barsha, Kanishka Kesharwani topped her school with 44 points and is headed to Durham University to study law. For her, success came from a deep sense of self-awareness — combined with a little fear. 'I believe my motivation was largely self-driven, and a big part of that came from the supportive environment my family provided — they never imposed any academic pressure on me,' she said. 'I've always seen potential in myself, but I'm also deeply aware of how overconfidence can lead to missed opportunities. That awareness kept me grounded and motivated.' After underwhelming mock results, she turned to structure for comfort. 'I immediately created a color-coded Excel sheet to track my revision progress out of fear. But watching topics shift from red to green gave me a unique sense of fulfillment,' she added. To her peers and juniors, she offered a simple piece of advice, 'don't let go of opportunities just because they require extra effort.' Kanishka also made it a point to plan ahead. 'College applications took up most of my time until October, followed by internal assessments through December. Between December and the February mock exams, I made it a point to spend time with friends and family. Those memories are just as valuable as the academic milestones.'
