A Short Primer on Food Insecurity in the World

 

A. Basic Information on Hunger…

 

1. According to FAO estimates some 842 million people worldwide are hungry and undernourished.  Wow! That is a LOT of people!!!
2. The assessment reveals that more than three fourths are either lagging behind or not on course to attain the WFS Goal by 2015. Specifics: 31 countries are on track or achieved the WFS goals of halving the number of hungry people; 27 countries are lagging behind or far behind; and 49 countries are off-track. In fact, the hunger situation has actually worsened considerably.
3. Over and above, there are 36 countries facing food emergencies in 2004 Specifics: 24 Countries in Africa; 5 countries in Asia & Near East; 5 countries in Latin America; and one country in Europe.

 

B. Causes of Food Shortage,,,

 

According to the UN’s hunger Task Force, there are three causes of food shortage: Natural Hazards, Conflict and HIV/AIDS.

 

1, Natural Hazards like floods, drought, cyclones/typhoons, and earthquakes cause hunger to about 60 million people per year.

2. Conflict is identified as one of the most common causes of food insecurity. The number and scale of conflict-related, food security emergencies is increasing.

3. HIV/AIDS erodes the capital base and undermine the productive capacity of many countries. HIV/AIDS has dramatically altered the landscape in which agriculture operate in southern and eastern Africa.

 

C. A Call to MONITOR your country’s performance vis-à-vis WFS Commitment…

 

Ø      Commitment 1: To build a social and economic environment to enhance Poverty Reduction.

Ø      Commitment 2: To establish a national policy in eradicating poverty and in improving access to food.

Ø      Commitment 3:  To adopt a sustainable food and agricultural policies.

Ø      Commitment 4: To adopt Food & Agricultural policies conducive to Food Security.

Ø      Commitment 5: To enhance capability to respond to food emergency measures.

Ø      Commitment 6: To ensure the optimal allocation of resources to foster human resource, agricultural and rural development.

Ø      Commitment 7: To implant, Monitor & Follow up the plan of action on Poverty Reduction at all levels

 

 D. Examples and Models…

 

1. In Latin America, Brazil’s Zero Hunger is the model. The Government of Brazil has declared that the fight against hunger is its highest priority. “Projeto Fome Zero” (Zero Hunger Project) combines emergency interventions to put food on the plates of the hungry with initiatives to increase employability, reduce poverty and stimulate food production.
2. In Asia & Pacific, Thailand’s Rapid Progress is the model. The Thai Government adopted three crucial steps in reducing poverty: 1^st, Reduce expenditures; 2^nd, Increase Income; and 3^rd, Increase opportunities. FAO has now ranked Thailand the 14^th largest world agricultural & food exporter and WTO has ranked Thailand as the 5^th largest exporter when all European countries were counted as single community.
3. In Africa, Tunisia’s Investment in Solidarity is the model. The Government of Pres. Zine el Abidine ben Ali enacted laws to establish the National Solidarity Fund (NSF) to reduce poverty and enhance productivity in the rural areas.

 

E. Task Ahead…

 

A growing number of countries are showing the way, mustering the political will and the resources to attack the problem of hunger head on. Now it is time for the international community to follow through on the commitments made at the World Food Summit. 

 

Here we quote the FAO’s Director General Jacques Diouf when he said: “the task ahead of us is to create an international alliance against hunger that will mobilize national and global commitment, based not on a plea for charity but on a demand for justice and an appeal to the self-inter4est of almost everyone, recognizing that the suffering of 800 million hungry people represents not only an unconscionable tragedy but a threat to economic growth and political stability on a global scale”. HUNGER CANNOT WAIT!

 

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