A GROUP of 20 countries experienced “alarming” or “extremely alarming” levels of food shortages between 2005 and 2010 despite steady progress being made to eradicate hunger over two decades, the latest Global Hunger Index reveals.
Released yesterday by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide, the index shows Burundi and Eritrea in Africa, and Haiti in the Caribbean, had the worst levels of hunger out of the 120 countries surveyed over the six-year period.
The index combines into one score three equally weighted indicators: the proportion of people undernourished, the proportion of children under five underweight, and the mortality rate of children younger than five.
An increase in a country’s score indicates the hunger situation is worsening, while a decrease shows an improvement in food security.
The 2012 world index has fallen by 26 per cent from the 1990 hunger levels – from a score of 19.8 to 14.7 – with 15 countries reducing their scores by 50 per cent or more over that period.
Because of time lags in obtaining data, the report warned its findings were not the most up to date, as it does not reflect last year’s hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa or the unfolding food emergency in west Africa’s semi-arid Sahel region.
In terms of absolute progress, Angola, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nicaragua, Niger and Vietnam saw the largest improvements in their scores since 1990.
South Asia performed worse than sub-Saharan Africa, scoring 22.5 and 20.7 respectively. The two regions were the worst performers overall.
Although the report welcomed the progress made, the authors warned the unsustainable use of land, water and energy was threatening the food security of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable nations.
An increase in the number of international land investments, or land deals, was highlighted as a particularly worrying trend because of their negative impact on rural populations.
Many of these deals, which involve the acquisition of land for the purpose of growing food for export to developed countries, target African nations with weak regulatory environments.
Among its recommendations, the report calls for smallholder land and water rights to be secured, subsidies for fuels and fertiliser to be phased out, and technical solutions that conserve natural resources to be scaled up.
