WUNRN
FAO - Food & Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations
2013 STATE OF FOOD INSECURITY IN THE
WORLD - FAO
THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF FOOD
SECURITY
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2013 presents
updated estimates of undernourishment and progress towards the Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) and World Food Summit (WFS) hunger targets. The latest
assessment shows that further progress has been made towards the 2015 MDG
target, which remains within reach for the developing regions as a whole,
although marked differences across regions persist and considerable and
immediate additional efforts will be needed.
The 2013 report goes beyond measuring food deprivation. It presents a broader
suite of indicators that aim to capture the multidimensional nature of food
insecurity, its determinants and outcomes. This suite, compiled for every
country, allows a more nuanced picture of their food security status, guiding
policy-makers in the design and implementation of targeted and effective policy
measures that can contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and
malnutrition.
Drawing on the suite of indicators, the report also examines the diverse experiences
of six countries in more detail, finding a mixed picture of progress and
setbacks. Together, these country experiences show the importance of social
protection and nutrition-enhancing interventions, policies to increase
agricultural productivity and rural development, diverse sources of income and
long-term commitment to mainstreaming food security and nutrition in public
policies and programmes.
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GLOBAL HUNGER DOWN, BUT MILLIONS
STILL CHRONICALLY HUNGRY
842
million people undernourished in 2011-13 - Developing countries make progress
but more efforts needed to reach MDG target
Even when hunger is low,
undernutrition can cause health, social and economic problems.
1 October
2013, Rome - Some 842 million people, or roughly one in eight, suffered from
chronic hunger in 2011-13, not getting enough food to lead active and healthy
lives according to a report released by the UN food agencies.
The number is down from 868 million reported
for the 2010-12 period, according to the State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI
2013), published every year by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the
International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The vast majority of hungry
people live in developing regions, while 15.7 million live in developed
countries.
Continued economic growth in developing countries has improved incomes and
access to food. Recent pick-up in agricultural productivity growth, supported
by increased public investment and renewed interest of private investors in
agriculture, has improved food availability.
In addition,
in some countries, remittances from migrants are playing a role in reducing
poverty, leading to better diets and progress in food security. They can also
contribute to boosting productive investments by smallholder farmers
Strong
differences
Despite the
progress made worldwide, marked differences in hunger reduction persist.
Sub-Saharan Africa has made only modest progress in recent years and remains
the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, with one in four
people (24.8 per cent) estimated to be hungry.
No
recent progress is observed in Western Asia, while Southern Asia and Northern
Africa witnessed slow progress. More substantial reductions in both the number
of hungry and prevalence of undernourishment have occurred in most countries of
East Asia, Southeastern Asia, and in Latin America.
Since 1990-92, the total number of undernourished in developing countries has
fallen by 17 percent from 995.5 million to 826.6 million.
Hunger
reduction targets
While
uneven, the report stresses that developing regions as a whole have made
significant progress towards reaching the target of halving the proportion of
hungry people by 2015. This target was agreed internationally as part of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). If the average annual decline since 1990
continues to 2015, the prevalence of undernourishment will reach a level close
to the MDG hunger target.
A more
ambitious target set at the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS), to halve the number
of hungry people by 2015, remains out of reach at global level, even though 22
countries had already met it by the end of 2012.
FAO, IFAD
and WFP urged countries "to make considerable and immediate additional
efforts" to meet the MDG and WFS targets.
"With a
final push in the next couple of years, we can still reach the MDG
target," wrote the heads of FAO, IFAD and WFP, José Graziano da Silva,
Kanayo F. Nwanze and Ertharin Cousin in their foreword to the report. They
called for nutrition-sensitive interventions in agriculture and food systems as
a whole, as well as in public health and education, especially for women.
"Policies
aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and increasing food availability,
especially when smallholders are targeted, can achieve hunger reduction even
where poverty is widespread. When they are combined with social protection and
other measures that increase the incomes of poor families, they can have an
even more positive effect and spur rural development, by creating vibrant
markets and employment opportunities, resulting in equitable economic
growth," the agency heads said.
Pro-poor
policies needed
The report
underlines that economic growth is key for progress in hunger reduction. But
growth may not lead to more and better jobs and incomes for all, unless
policies specifically target the poor, especially those in rural areas.
"In poor countries, hunger and poverty reduction will only be achieved
with growth that is not only sustained, but also broadly shared," the
report noted.
Tackling
malnutrition, child stunting
The UN
hunger report not only measures chronic hunger but presents a new suite of
indicators for every country to capture the multiple dimensions of food
insecurity. These indicators give a more nuanced picture of food insecurity in
a country. In some countries, for example, the prevalence of hunger can be low,
while at the same time undernutrition rates can be quite high, as exemplified
by the proportion of children who are stunted (low height for age) or
underweight, whose future health and development are put at risk. Such
distinctions are important to improve the effectiveness of measures to reduce
hunger and food insecurity in all its dimensions.
The findings and recommendations of SOFI 2013
will be discussed by governments, civil society and private sector
representatives at the 7-11 October meeting of the Committee on
World Food Security, at FAO headquarters in Rome.
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