STWR - Share The World's Resources

Halving, by no later than 2015, the number of  undernourished people in the world was the goal set by the World Food Summit (WFS) in 1996. Ten years on, there has been almost no progress in reducing global hunger. The FAO's 2006 landmark report on food insecurity carried a clear message: The existence of hunger in a world of plenty s unacceptable, and taking action to eradicate hunger s the responsibility of all. It can be done.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, 2006

Link to the full report  

Ten years ago, world leaders met in Rome for the World Food Summit (WFS) to discuss ways to end hunger. They pledged their commitment to an ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries and set themselves the immediate target of halving the number of undernourished people by 2015. To this purpose, they approved the World Food Summit Plan of Action.  Currently 854 million people – one in seven of the world’s population – lack access to sufficient food.  In some countries, more than one third of the population suffer from hunger.

In October 2006, FAO’s Committee on World Food Security is undertaking an assessment of the implementation of the Plan of Action and a mid-term review of progress towards achieving the target. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2006 reviews progress and setbacks in hunger reduction since 1990–92, the established baseline period.

The first section of the report, Undernourishment around the world, reviews trends in hunger at the global, regional and subregional levels. It also presents FAO’s most recent projections of undernourishment in 2015.

The second section, Undernourishment in the regions, reviews the food security situation in each of the major developing regions and the transition countries.

The third section, Towards the Summit commitments, summarizes lessons from past experience in hunger reduction and presents FAO’s current thinking on how to accelerate progress towards meeting the WFS target.

Two tables (pp. 32–38) provide detailed information on levels of undernourishment in developing and transition countries and other indicators relevant to food security. The report also includes maps (page 31) illustrating the global food security situation and progress in hunger reduction.

The forward to the report carried this message by Jacques Diouf, the FAO Director-General:

"Is the 2015 WFS target still attainable? The answer should be a resounding “Yes”, as long as concrete and concerted action, following the WFS Plan of Action, is taken and stepped up immediately. Already ten years ago, signatories to the Rome Declaration emphasized the urgency of the task “for which the primary responsibility rests with individual governments”, but for which cooperation with international organizations and civil society – including both public and private sectors – is vital. Today, we are confident that the race against hunger can still be won, but only if the necessary resources, political will and correct policies are forthcoming. We fully agree with the principal conclusion of the UN Millennium Project’s Hunger Task Force: It can be done."

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment