The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2003

Book excerpt: The fifth edition of this publication provides the latest estimates of the number of chronically hungry people in the world and reports on global and national efforts to achieve the World Food Summit (WFS) target of halving hunger levels by the year 2015. It also considers the impact on food security of a range of factors including: the HIV/AIDS pandemic, improved management of water resources, and the increasing integration of developing countries into international markets and trade agreements. The report identifies encouraging signs of progress towards the WFS target, with some developing countries having adopted a twin-track strategy for tackling hunger levels by combining immediate food interventions with longer term development initiatives to increase employment, incomes and food production in impoverished communities. However, these countries are more the exception than the rule, with estimates indicating that the number of undernourished people across the developing world has risen by 4.5 million each year over the most recent four year period for which data is available. Overall, the report highlights the fact that the WFS goal is still within reach, but without a redoubled national and global commitment it is unlikely to be achieved.