IFPRI, has released its annual Global Food PolicyReport.
IFPRI has set a goal of 2025 for ending hunger andundernutrition. The U.N. estimates more than 840-million people still go hungry every day, while overtwo-billion have a deficiency of essentialmicronutrients, such as iron, Vitamin A and zinc.
Waka, aged 2, a severely malnourished child sits on the floor at Bangui’s pediatriccenter in Bangui, Central African Republic, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013. According toUNICEF’s doctor Celestin Traore, even though malnutrition is high in the country, theprob
Although very high, those figures actually represent an improvement in recent years. But theprogress has not been uniform. The report said there are still major hunger challenges in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan, said, “We have made tremendous progress in the lastseveral decades. So poverty has come down – undernutrition has come down. However, we’restill facing some tremendous challenges.”
Fan said that solving hunger and undernutrition is a “moral issue.”
“We’ve got to work together to solve that problem. Secondly, it is also [an] economic issue. Itmakes a lot of economic sense by reducing hunger and malnutrition.”
He said there is a very large return for every dollar invested in reducing hunger. The IFPRIreport listed Brazil, China, Thailand and Vietnam as having made dramatic progress -- withpolicies that emphasize improving agriculture, providing social safety nets and targetingnutrition programs at those most in need.
Fan said it requires cooperation among governments, the private sector, civil society, farmersand others.
“So you have different kinds of approaches that can reduce hunger, malnutrition in a shortperiod of time. Let’s say in 20 years or even 10 years. Why I’m pushing for 2025 is because ifwe keep the current momentum – the momentum we have created in the last two or threeyears – put nutrition very high in the development agenda – I believe we can do it by 2025,”he said.
The report said, however, that the “development agenda should not pursue the achievementof environmental sustainability goals at the expense of food and nutritional security and thewell-being of poor and hungry people.”
“Why we need a sustainable world is because we wanted to have a sustainable world for people.So it must be people focused. However, if we do not tackle some of the environmental issues,climate change issues, then obviously people will suffer. So, yes, in many areas there may besome trade offs. However, there are many synergies, as well. How can we produce enoughnutritious food by using less water, less land, emit less carbon emission? So there are lots ofsynergies,” said Fan.
New priorities must be set, he said, as the Millennium Development Goals come due. The MDGs– which include reducing hunger – will expire at the end of next year. He said that so far there’snothing official to replace them, but meetings are underway to do so.
“There are many, many different working groups led by [the] U. N., by high level panels, by civilsocieties, by many different groups. So, 2014 will be a critical year for different stakeholders tomake their contribution to the debate. But finally it is the national governments, who have toown this strategy, who have to own the agenda. So unless they own it, I’m afraid the goalswe set will not be achieved.”
The IFPRI director-general said it’s a matter of political will, accountability and adequateresources. He added besides the current focus on staple crops -- maize, rice and wheat –emphasis must be placed on more nutritious foods, such as vegetables and fruits.
He also warned against the current trend in many developing countries of eating moreprocessed foods containing large amounts of fat, sugar and salt. He says this can lead todouble dilemma of obesity and undernutrition.
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