The Millennium Development Summit has set a goal of reducing by half the proportion of hungry people in the world by 2015. However, progress in achieving this Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is slow. Some countries are moving away rather than towards the target. This paper looks at some of the reasons for this and identifies what needs to be done to achieve the target. It highlights the areas in which DFID will focus its energies.
The causes of hunger are several, and include poverty, ill health, exclusion, conflict and natural disasters. Food security focuses on people's ability to access food, rather than simply food production. Policies to address hunger need to be based on a clear understanding of who is hungry, and why. Understanding people's vulnerability, the impact of shocks, as well as the effects of trade policies, is critical in the design of appropriate policies to tackle hunger.
Poverty reduction is essential to eliminating hunger. However, a focus on food security within poverty reduction initiatives is critical, in order to ensure that such initiatives meet the needs of the hungry and that they address both the chronic and transitory aspects of food security.
The scale of the challenge is huge. FAO estimates that almost 800 million people in the world do not have enough to eat. In order to understand the challenge of ridding the world of hunger, we need to answer some key questions.
THE PROBLEM
Is there enough food in the world?
There is currently relative optimism about the capacity of the world to produce enough food to keep up with population growth, provided that appropriate policies and investment in research and inputs are maintained, and concerns about environmental sustainability are addressed. However, regional inequalities are likely to grow. The persistence of areas of chronic food insecurity illustrates the fact that global food availability does not, on its own, ensure sufficient access to food for all.
How do people access sufficient food?
People acquire food through a range of activities, including production, but also through exchange of goods and services in markets, and gifts and relief. Shocks, whether at the household level (death of family member, ill health) or at a regional or national level (drought, conflict etc) have a major impact on people's ability to secure enough to eat. Markets also play a key role. The impact of globalisation and trade on food security is complex but has very significant implications both at a household level, as well as a national level.
How are food security and nutrition related?
Malnutrition is not just an outcome of the amount of food consumed, but also of the local health and care environment. Chronic illnesses, and HIV/AIDS in particular, have an increasing impact on nutrition and food security. Quality of food, in terms of micro-nutrients and diversity of food sources are important. Access to food is further determined by age, sex and status within the household.
What about conflict and disasters?
Conflict is a major cause of famine. Poor people are increasingly prone to drought and other natural disasters. Climate change introduces unknown risks and uncertainty. Those who are displaced are particularly vulnerable.
How do we measure and monitor hunger?
The multi-dimensional nature of food security means that there can be no single measure of hunger. The current FAO global "undernourishment" indicator provides a snapshot of the situation, but cannot identify the causes of hunger or look at policy impact. Different agencies at national levels operate various food security measurement systems. The quality of data collection is variable and collaboration between agencies is weak. Few are geared to identifying who is vulnerable, where, and why. The linkages between the information produced and its use in policy and planning need strengthening. There is a need for existing livelihoods methods adopted at sub-national levels, which identify who is vulnerable and why, to be scaled up to national levels.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
Hunger is inextricably linked to poverty and vulnerability. Measures to reduce poverty, empower people and create an environment within which markets can work fairly will help improve access to food.
However, if the hunger Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to be achieved, there is a need for a specific focus on addressing food insecurity. This should aim at:
- Improving access to food and effective demand through poverty reduction, and sustainable agricultural growth strategies that put an emphasis on jobs and incomes for the poorest. Support to agricultural research and investment is necessary but not sufficient on its own.
- Ensuring pro-poor trade reforms that strengthen the food security of the poor. Analysis of the impact of trade reform on the livelihoods of the poor must become more sophisticated.
- Interventions tackling malnutrition are required both in emergencies and developmental situations. A multi-sectoral approach is required to reduce malnutrition, including the promotion of health and education, efforts to tackle food insecurity and improving access to safe water.
- Food aid is a key tool for saving lives in humanitarian crises, but better mechanisms are needed for monitoring the impact and effectiveness of food aid. There is a need for a radical overhaul of the institutional arrangements for food aid.
- New approaches are required for the measurement of hunger at global and national levels, and for integrating livelihoods approaches which can identify who is hungry and why, into national policy and planning.
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