FAO - News Article: World hunger falls, but 805 million still chronically undernourished

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2/27/15, 6:02 PM

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World hunger falls, but 805 million still chronically

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The State of Food Insecurity
in the World 2014 (SOFI
2014)

MDG target to halve proportion of worlds hungry still within reach by end of 2015
16 September 2014, Rome - About 805 million people in
the world, or one in nine, suffer from hunger, according to a
new UN report released today.
The State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI 2014) confirmed
a positive trend which has seen the number of hungry people
decline globally by more than 100 million over the last decade
and by 209 million since 1990-92. The report is published
annually by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the
World Food Programme (WFP).
The overall trend in hunger reduction in developing countries
means that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving
the proportion of undernourished people by 2015 is within reach, "if appropriate and immediate efforts are stepped
up," the report said. To date, 63 developing countries have reached the MDG target, and six more are on track to reach
it by 2015.
A worker weeding in a nursery in Back Kan, Viet Nam

"This is proof that we can win the war against hunger and should inspire countries to move forward, with the assistance
of the international community as needed," the heads of FAO, IFAD and WFP, Jos Graziano da Silva, Kanayo F. Nwanze
and Ertharin Cousin, wrote in their foreword to the report.
They stressed that "accelerated, substantial and sustainable hunger reduction is possible with the requisite political
commitment," and that "this has to be well informed by sound understanding of national challenges, relevant policy
options, broad participation and lessons from other experiences."
SOFI 2014 noted how access to food has improved rapidly and significantly in countries that have experienced overall
economic progress, notably in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia. Access to food has also improved in Southern Asia and
Latin America, but mainly in countries with adequate safety nets and other forms of social protection including for the
rural poor.
Hunger reduction has accelerated, but some lag behind
Despite significant progress overall, several regions and sub-regions continue to lag behind. In Sub-Saharan Africa, more
than one in four people remain chronically undernourished, while Asia, the world's most populous region, is also home
to the majority of the hungry - 526 million people.
Latin America and the Caribbean have made the greatest overall strides in increasing food security. Meanwhile Oceania
has accomplished only a modest improvement (1.7 percent decline) in the prevalence of undernourishment, which stood
at 14.0 percent in 2012-14, and has actually seen the number of its hungry increase since 1990-92.
The agency heads noted that of the 63 countries which have reached the MDG target, 25 have also achieved the more
ambitious World Food Summit (WFS) target of halving the number of undernourished people by 2015. However, the
report indicated that time has run out on reaching the WFS target at the global level.
Creating an enabling environment through coordinated actions

SOFI 2014 in brief

Frequently Asked Questions
on SOFI 2014

Related links
Millennium Development
Goals
ICN2 Second International
Conference on Nutrition

Video
Jomo Kwame Sundaram,
FAO Assistant DirectorGeneral, provides an
overview of the SOFI key
findings.

Audio
Interview with George
Rapsomanikis, FAO Senior
Economist

Contact
Peter Mayer
FAO Media Relations (Rome)
(+39) 06 570 52627
peter.mayer@fao.org
Katie Taft
IFAD Communications
(+39) 06 5459 2396
Cell: (+39) 366 5620976
k.taft@ifad.org
Zoie Jones
WFP Communications Officer
Cell: (+39) 342 902 5566
zoie.jones@wfp.org

With the number of undernourished people remaining "unacceptably high", the agency heads stressed the need to
renew the political commitment to tackle hunger and to transform it into concrete actions. In this context, the heads of
FAO, IFAD and WFP welcomed the pledge at the 2014 African Union summit in June to end hunger on the continent by
2025.

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FAO - News Article: World hunger falls, but 805 million still chronically undernourished

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"Food insecurity and malnutrition are complex problems that cannot be solved by one sector or stakeholder alone, but
need to be tackled in a coordinated way," they added, calling on governments to work closely with the private sector
and civil society.
The FAO, IFAD and WFP report specifies that hunger eradication requires establishing an enabling environment and an
integrated approach. Such an approach includes public and private investments to increase agricultural productivity;
access to land, services, technologies and markets; and measures to promote rural development and social protection for
the most vulnerable, including strengthening their resilience to conflicts and natural disasters. The report also
emphasizes the importance of specific nutrition programmes, particularly to address micronutrient deficiencies of
mothers and children under five.
Case studies
This year's report includes seven case studies - Bolivia, Brazil, Haiti, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malawi and Yemen - that
highlight some of the ways that countries tackle hunger and how external events may influence their capacity to deliver
on achieving food security and nutrition objectives. The countries were chosen because of their political, economic particularly in the agricultural sector - diversities, and cultural differences.
Bolivia
Bolivia, for example, has created institutions to involve a range of stakeholders, particularly previously marginalized
indigenous people.
Brazil
Brazil's Zero Hunger programme, which placed achievement of food security at the centre of the government's agenda,
is at the heart of progress that led the country to achieve both the MDG and WFS targets. Current programmes to
eradicate extreme poverty in the country build on the approach of linking policies for family farming with social
protection in a highly inclusive manner.
Haiti
Haiti, where more than half the population is chronically undernourished, is still struggling to recover from the effects
of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The report notes how the country has adopted a national programme to
strengthen livelihoods and improve agricultural productivity by supporting small family farmers' access to inputs and
services.

Indonesia has adopted legal frameworks and established institutions to improve food security and nutrition. Its policy
coordination mechanism involves ministries, NGOs and community leaders. Measures address a wide range of challenges
from agricultural productivity growth to nutritious and safe diets.
Madagascar is emerging from a political crisis and is resuming relationships with international development partners
aimed at tackling poverty and malnutrition. It is also working in partnership to build resilience to shocks and climate
hazards, including cyclones, droughts and locust invasions, which often afflict the island nation.
Malawi has reached the MDG hunger target, thanks to a strong and persistent commitment to boost maize
production. However, malnutrition remains a challenge - 50 percent of children under five are stunted and 12.8 percent
are underweight. To address the issue, the government is promoting community-based nutrition interventions to
diversify production to include legumes, milk, fisheries and aquaculture, for healthier diets, and to improve incomes at
the household level.
Conflict, economic downturn, low agricultural productivity and poverty have made Yemen one of the most foodinsecure countries in the world. Besides restoring political security and economic stability, the government aims to
reduce hunger by one-third by 2015 and to make 90 percent of the population food-secure by 2020. It also aims to
reduce the current critical rates of child malnutrition by at least one percentage point per year.
The findings and recommendations of SOFI 2014 will be discussed by governments, civil society, and private sector
representatives at the 13-18 October meeting of the Committee on World Food Security, at FAO headquarters in Rome.
The report will also be a focus of the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) in Rome from 19-21
November, which FAO is jointly organizing with the World Health Organization. This high-level intergovernmental
meeting seeks, at a global level, renewed political commitment to combat malnutrition with the overall goal of
improving diets and raising nutrition levels.

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