FAO's annual hunger report shows negative signs

The war against hunger continues encountering setbacks according to The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2003 (SOFI 2003), the annual publication issued by FAO, which reported an increase in the number of hungry people in the world.

The goal set at the World Food Summit 1996 of halving the number of undernourished people in the world by 2015 is far from occurring if the trend continues. In the second half of the decade the number of hungry people has increased by 18 million. According to FAO estimates, in order to achieve the goal the annual reduction must be accelerated by 26 million per year, 12 times the pace of 2.1 million per year achieved during the 1990s.

Although the number of hungry has increased during the past decade, the report also shows the successful results of some 19 countries that have succeeded in reducing the number of undernourished people.

The report has also enabled FAO to gain many insights on the surging causes of hunger and has helped to achieve understanding on how to reduce it. The SOFI 2003 showed that "hunger cannot be combated effectively in regions ravaged by AIDS, unless interventions address the particular needs of AIDS-affected households and incorporate measures both to prevent and to mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS."

International trade and food security is another topic underlined in the report, in which a special report focuses on the positive and negative impacts of international trade on world poverty and hunger.

To download the report please click here.