FAO calls for continued reduction of global hunger

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development recently jointly released a new report, affirming the positive trend of continuously declining global hunger numbers, but at the same time emphasizing that the global hunger population still exceeds 800 million, equivalent to one-ninth of the world's population.

This report, titled "The State of Food Insecurity in the World," points out that compared with 10 years ago, the world's hungry population has decreased by more than 100 million. The overall trend in reducing hunger in developing countries shows that if immediate action can be taken and the implementation of corresponding measures intensified, the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of undernourished people can be achieved by next year. To date, 63 developing countries have met the requirements of the Millennium Development Goals, and another 6 countries are expected to achieve the goal next year.

In the foreword written for the report, FAO Director-General da Silva, WFP Executive Director Cousin and IFAD President Nwanze stated, “We have the capacity to defeat hunger, and countries should be encouraged to continue their efforts with the necessary assistance of the international community.” They emphasized that “with the support of the necessary political commitment, accelerated, substantial and sustained reductions in hunger can be achieved, but this also requires a full understanding of the challenges facing countries, relevant policy programmes, broad participation and other lessons that can be drawn upon.”

This annual report notes that in countries with overall sound economic development, especially in East Asia and Southeast Asia, rapid and significant improvements have been made in access to food; the situation in South Asia and Latin America has also improved, with Latin America and the Caribbean achieving the most outstanding results in improving food security. However, some regions and subregions remain lagging behind. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than one quarter of the population suffers from chronic food deprivation, while in Asia, which has the world's largest population, the number of hungry people is also the highest, reaching 526 million. In Oceania, the prevalence of undernourishment decreased only slightly, standing at 14 percent from 2012 to 2014, a decline of about 1.7 percent, but its hunger numbers have generally shown an upward trend since 1990.

The report emphasizes that given that the number of undernourished people remains “unacceptably high,” it is necessary to reaffirm the political commitment to eradicating hunger and translate it into concrete action. The report states that food insecurity and malnutrition are both complex problems that cannot be solved by the efforts of a single sector or stakeholder alone, and require a coordinated multi-party approach. Therefore, FAO, WFP and IFAD call on governments to work closely with the private sector and civil society.

In addition, the report also clarifies that eradicating hunger requires an enabling environment and an integrated approach. Such approaches include public and private investment aimed at improving agricultural productivity; improving access to land, services, technology and markets; and measures to promote rural development and social protection for the most vulnerable groups, such as strengthening the ability of vulnerable groups to withstand conflict and natural disasters.