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Hunger and Food Security

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Analysis: When the water runs dry, the ideas flow. Read this article in: عربي Droughts seem to be increasing, but so are methods to survive them STOCKHOLM, 13 September 2013 (IRIN) - Droughts are rarely seen as a positive development.

Analysis: When the water runs dry, the ideas flow

Historically equated with divine punishment, they can be fatal to local economies and human lives alike. But they can also provide a crucial test for water management systems, which - when they function effectively - may allow regions to shake off severe droughts that would have otherwise led to widespread loss of life. “Droughts provide an opportunity for action as well as learning lessons. “We have been experiencing, over the last couple of years, some major droughts around the world that have reinforced the growing recognition that we are going to be facing more climate extremes - droughts and floods - and we need to learn how to deal with them more effectively.” So what have we learned from current and recent water shortages? Water storage and risk management Groundwater Technology Learning lessons jj/rz. 2012 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics by World Hunger Education Service.

2015 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics World Hunger Education Service (Also see World Child Hunger Facts) This fact sheet is divided into the following sections:

2012 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics by World Hunger Education Service

World Economic Forum - Putting the New Vision for Agriculture into Action: A Transformation Is Happening. Food waste in developing countries. The issue of food waste was in the news last week, after a report from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers showed that up to 50% of the world’s food is wasted.

Food waste in developing countries

We usually look at this from our own perspective, the amount we throw away as households and the behaviour of supermarkets. We feel guilty about this because, we say to ourselves, people in other parts of the world are starving. This may be true, but a lot of food gets wasted in developing countries too. India loses 21 million tonnes of wheat every year, and parts of Vietnam waste as much as 80% of the rice harvest. This waste happens in different ways and has different solutions, and since I’ve written plenty on food waste in Britain before, I thought I might look at the developing world angle. 2012 Global Hunger Index Press Briefing. Unsustainable use of land, water, and energy is threatening the food security of the poorest and most vulnerable around the world, according to the 2012 Global Hunger Index, released for the seventh year by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide.

2012 Global Hunger Index Press Briefing

According to the 2012 GHI hunger on a global scale remains serious with 20 countries having levels of hunger that are “alarming” or “extremely alarming.” Two of the three countries with extremely alarming levels—Burundi and Eritrea—are in Sub-Saharan Africa; the third country is Haiti. South Asia is the other region that continues to suffer from the highest levels of hunger. Report 2012 Global Hunger IndexThe challenge of hunger: Ensuring sustainable food security under land, water, and energy stresses October 2012. Press Release Hunger in Times of Land, Water, and Energy PressuresDownload: English | Français | Chinese Fact Sheets. Hunger - the face of Poverty. 10 Things You Should Know abt Hunger. A group of girls in Haiti have their midday meal in a school partially destroyed by the earthquake in January 2010.

10 Things You Should Know abt Hunger

Copyright:WFP/Rein Skullerud How many hungry people are there in the world and where do most of them live? What effect does it have on their minds and bodies and what can we do to help them? Here is a list of 10 things about hunger that absolutely everyone should know. 1. 2.Rising food prices pushed an additional 44 million people into hunger between June 2010 and February 2011 when they soared to their highest level ever. 3. 4. Hunger is most urgent threat to children. For the first time in a decade, the number of children suffering from hunger and malnutrition has risen, threatening the substantial progress made in child health and education in the developing world.

Hunger is most urgent threat to children

As it launches its annual child development index, Save the Children is calling on the UK prime minister David Cameron to spearhead a drive against malnutrition at the hunger summit he has pledged to call during the Olympic Games in London and through into the UK's G8 presidency in 2013. In the 2000s, says the report, the proportion of acutely malnourished children grew. Human rights are the best weapon to combat hunger, report says. An Indian boy eats food distributed by a charity outside a temple in Delhi. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP Human rights are the most powerful tool to ensure efforts against hunger and malnutrition tackle structural causes and are not reduced to short-term strategies, civil society groups said in a report published on Tuesday.

Who Decides About Global Food and Nutrition? – Strategies to Regain Control argues that it is impossible to combat the causes of hunger while keeping existing power relations untouched. 10 Ways To Feed The World. WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran outlines a ten-point strategy for ending hunger at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.

10 Ways To Feed The World

Copyright: WFP/Jennifer Mizgata. A week after progress on ending global hunger came under a spotlight at the Millennium Development Goal Summit, WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran reiterated that a world without hunger is within reach and mapped out 10 key strategies for achieving it. WASHINGTON D.C. – Ending world hunger is an achievable goal within this generation if the right strategies are adopted, WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said on Wednesday as she mapped out 10 ways in which the world can achieve that goal. Act to End Extreme Hunger. Irish Hunger Task Force report. Eliminating Global Hunger:Towards a Strategic Irish Response. Dochas Food Security Group on White Paper. Dóchas welcomes Hunger Task Force report. Dóchas submission to Hunger Task Force. Food Security. Combating Malnutrition. Alliance for Improved Nutrition (2002) Ending Child Hunger & Under-Nutrition (2006) Scaling Up Nutrition (2009) G8 and Hunger. Is there a blueprint for driving change at global level – and is it being applied to sustainable energy and food security?

Interested in driving change at global level? Here’s how to do it, apparently: agree a Declaration; set global targets; write (or recommend the writing of) country plans; promise international support, usually through a specially created fund; and set up new bodies to coordinate action and monitor progress. Quite often, it is thought useful to have a High Level Panel to work through the issues in advance, and provide the ideas which will shape the Declaration. There has been a long debate about the merits of this kind of approach. Does the use of quantitative targets bias interventions to what can be measured? ‘International development targets adopted by UN Conferences provide political impetus, focus expenditure and help in monitoring progress. The political impetus is key. Sustainable Energy for All. G8 food security alliance answers question hungry people have not asked.

“The New Alliance is neither new nor a true alliance.

G8 food security alliance answers question hungry people have not asked

The rhetoric invokes small-scale producers, particularly women, but the plan must do more to bring them to the table.” Lamine Ndiaye Pan Africa Head of Economic Justice, OxfamGB Published: 18 May 2012. Zero Hunger Challenge (2012) 22 June 2012 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched a ‘Zero Hunger Challenge’ which invites all countries to work for a future where every individual has adequate nutrition and where all food systems are resilient.

Zero Hunger Challenge (2012)

“In a world of plenty, no one – not a single person – should go hungry,” Mr. Ban said during the launch of the initiative at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday night. “I invite all of you to join me in working for a future without hunger.” “Zero hunger would boost economic growth, reduce poverty and safeguard the environment. It would foster peace and stability,” Mr. Hunger summit, Aug. 2012. Millions of children in the world’s poorest countries must benefit from the legacy of the London Olympics, the Prime Minister said today as he and the Brazilian Vice President, Michel Temer were joined by double Olympic gold medal winner Mo Farah to urge a global drive to boost nutrition.

Hunger summit, Aug. 2012

The two leaders hosted a high-level meeting bringing together representatives from international governments, charities and businesses at Downing Street on the day of the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. They urged the world to take decisive action before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio to transform the life chances of millions of children by improving their nutrition. They were joined at Downing Street by sporting legends Pele and Haile Gebrselassie who have also campaigned to end the cycle of hunger and poverty by tackling their root causes. Speaking after the meeting, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said: Vice-President Michel Temer said: Five stars for the Hunger Summit.

Five stars for the Hunger Summit The Hunger Summit held in London on 12 August has had mixed reviews. Not from me. I would have given it six stars if I had been invited - but as I wasn't, have slashed the score to five stars. I expect David Cameron knew I was going to be on holiday! There is quite a bit to say about this issue - skip to the end for my six principles for future work on food and nutrition. Political positioning There are two reasons to be positive. NGO responses to Global Hunger Event. New Green Revolution for Africa. EU Agriculture.

Biofuels

Infographic: Nourishing the Planet.