In response to the article “Food insecurity in early childhood,” I appreciated the authors drawing attention to this critical issue. As mentioned, nurses should be concerned with food insecurity because it directly links to health outcomes. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 aims for Zero Hunger. In our article, “Nursing and the sustainable development goals: Scaling up and measuring our impact during the decade of action”, we reported that nurses are highly engaged in addressing food insecurity. We reviewed the annual reports of Sigma Nursing chapters over 6 years and found that chapters reported an average of 103 activities each year targeting SDG 2. Specific examples of the work nurses were doing included organizing food drives, contributing to food banks, and making and delivering meals. With many of the SDGs intersecting with health outcomes, nurses should be concerned with all of the SDGs. Yet, many nurses are unaware of the SDGs (Hawkins et al. 2024). To promote the health of our communities, nurses everywhere should be knowledgeable of the SDGs and actively engage in addressing each one. I call on nurse leaders to promote awareness and to assist nurses in developing strategies that support the sustainable development agenda.
Janice Hawkins, PhD, RN, CNS, FAAN
Chesapeake, VA
References
Chiu, P., Hawkins, J., Eviza, K. & Gray, S. (2022). Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: Scaling up and measuring our impact during the decade of action. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 54, 664-66
Hawkins, J., Chiu, P., Mumba, M., Gray, S., & Hawkins, R. (2024). Nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding the Sustainable Development Goals: A global study. American Journal of Nursing, 124(7), 18-27.
