UN Report: Hunger Affects 1 In 8 People Around The
World
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/un-report-hunger_n_4021131.html) (07.10.2013)
MILAN, Oct 1 (Reuters) – One in eight people around the world is chronically
undernourished, the United Nations’ food agencies said on Tuesday, warning
world leaders that some regions would fail in halving the number of hungry by
2015.
In their latest report on food insecurity, the U.N. agencies estimated that 842
million people were suffering chronic hunger in 2011-13, or 12 percent of the
world’s population, down 17 percent from 1990-92.
The new figure was lower than the last estimate of 868 million in 2010-12 and 1.02
billion in 2009, but the report said progress in meeting the Millennium
Development Goal to halve the prevalence of hunger in the world by 2015 was
uneven.
Many countries were unlikely to meet the goal adopted by world leaders at the
United Nations in 2000, said the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the
World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD).
“Those (countries) that have experienced conflict during the past two
decades are more likely to have seen significant setbacks in reducing
hunger,” the report said.
“Landlocked countries face persistent challenges in accessing world
markets, while countries with poor infrastructure and weak institutions face
additional constraints.”
FAO, WFP and IFAD define undernourishment, or hunger, in the State of Food
Insecurity in the World 2013 report as “not having enough food for an
active and healthy life” and an inability to “meet dietary energy
requirements”.
Policies aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and food availability were
crucial in reducing hunger even where poverty was widespread, the agencies
said.
“When they are combined with social protection and other measures that
increase the incomes of poor families to buy food, they can have an even more
positive (effect) and spur rural development,” they said.
Remittances, three times larger than official development assistance, have had
a significant impact on food security by leading to better diets and reduced
hunger, they said.
The vast majority of people suffering hunger, or 827 million, live in
developing countries, where the prevalence of undernourishment is estimated at
14.3 percent, the report found.
Africa remains the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, with
more than one in five people estimated to be undernourished, while most of the
undernourished people are in southern Asia.