The State Of Food Insecurity In The World 2013: The .

Key messagesA total of 842 million people in 2011–13, or aroundone in eight people in the world, were estimated to besuffering from chronic hunger, regularly not gettingenough food to conduct an active life. This figure islower than the 868 million reported with reference to2010–12. The total number of undernourished hasfallen by 17 percent since 1990–92.Developing regions as a whole have registeredsignificant progress towards the MDG 1 hunger target.If the average annual decline of the past 21 yearscontinues to 2015, the prevalence ofundernourishment will reach a level close to the target.Meeting it would require considerable and immediateadditional efforts.Growth can raise incomes and reduce hunger, buthigher economic growth may not reach everyone. Itmay not lead to more and better jobs for all, unlesspolicies specifically target the poor, especially those inrural areas. In poor countries, hunger and povertyreduction will only be achieved with growth that is notonly sustained, but also broadly shared.Despite overall progress, marked differences acrossregions persist. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the regionwith the highest prevalence of undernourishment, withmodest progress in recent years. Western Asia shows noprogress, while Southern Asia and Northern Africa showslow progress. Significant reductions in both theestimated number and prevalence of undernourishmenthave occurred in most countries of Eastern and SouthEastern Asia, as well as in Latin America.NOTES for Annex 1Policies aimed at enhancing agricultural productivityand increasing food availability, especially whensmallholders are targeted, can achieve hungerreduction even where poverty is widespread. Whenthey are combined with social protection and othermeasures that increase the incomes of poor families tobuy food, they can have an even more positiveeffective and spur rural development, by creatingvibrant markets and employment opportunities,making possible equitable economic growth.Remittances, which have globally become three timeslarger than official development assistance, have hadsignificant impacts on poverty and food security. Thisreport suggests that remittances can help to reducepoverty, leading to reduced hunger, better diets and,given appropriate policies, increased on-farminvestment.Countries revise their official statistics regularly for the past as well asthe latest reported period. The same holds for population data of theUnited Nations. Whenever this happens, FAO revises its estimates ofundernourishment accordingly. Therefore, users are advised to refer tochanges in estimates over time only within the same edition of TheState of Food Insecurity in the World and refrain from comparing datapublished in editions for different years.9.1.2.3.4.5.World Food Summit goal: halve, between 1990–92 and 2015,the number of undernourished people.Millennium Development Goal 1, target 1C: halve, between1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer fromhunger. Indicator 1.9 Proportion of population below minimumlevel of dietary energy consumption (undernourishment). Theresults are obtained following a harmonized methodologydescribed in Annex 2 and are based on the latest globallyavailable data averaged over three years. Some countries mayhave more recent data, which, if used, could lead to differentestimates of the prevalence of undernourishment andconsequently of the progress achieved.Projections.Change from 1990–92 baseline. For countries that did not existin the baseline period, the 1990–92 proportion ofundernourished is based on 1993–95 and the number ofundernourished is based on this proportion applied to their1990–92 population.The colour indicator shows the progress that is projected to beachieved by year 2015, if current trends continue:WFS targetLong-term commitment to mainstreaming foodsecurity and nutrition in public policies andprogrammes is key to hunger reduction. Keeping foodsecurity and agriculture high on the developmentagenda, through comprehensive reforms,improvements in the investment climate, supported bysustained social protection, is crucial for achievingmajor reductions in poverty and undernourishment.Number reducedby more than 5%*6.WFS target achievedNumber increasedby more than 5%Not assessed10.11.MDG targetChange within 5%Food security is a complex condition. Its dimensions –availability, access, utilization and stability – are betterunderstood when presented through a suite ofindicators.Undernourishment and undernutrition can coexist.However, in some countries, undernutrition rates, asindicated by the proportion of stunted children, areconsiderably higher than the prevalence ofundernourishment, as indicated by inadequacy ofdietary energy supply. In these countries,nutrition-enhancing interventions are crucial toimprove the nutritional aspects of food security.Improvements require a range of food security andnutrition-enhancing interventions in agriculture,health, hygiene, water supply and education,particularly targeting women.8.Target already met or expectedto be met by 2015 or prevalence 5% based on exponentialtrend on all data between1990–92 and 2011–13Progress insufficient to reachthe target if prevailing trendspersistNo progress, or deteriorationCountries, areas or territories for which there were insufficientdata to conduct the assessment are not considered. Theseinclude: American Samoa, Andorra, Anguilla, Aruba, Bahrain,Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territories, British Virgin Islands,Canton and Enderbury Islands, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island,Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Equatorial Guinea, FaeroeIslands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Guiana, Gibraltar,Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guam, Holy See, Johnston Island,Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Micronesia(Federated States of), Midway Islands, Monaco, Nauru, Niue,Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Palau, PitcairnIslands, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Saint Helena, Saint Pierreand Miquelon, San Marino, Singapore, Tokelau, Tonga, Turksand Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, United States Virgin Islands, WakeIsland, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Western Sahara.12.13.14.Country composition of the special groupings:7.Includes: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso,Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros,Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia,Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People'sDemocratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi,Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger,Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone,Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan (former), United Republic ofTanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia.15.Includes: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia (PlurinationalState of), Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central AfricanRepublic, Chad, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People'sDemocratic Republic, Lesotho, The former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia, Malawi, Mali, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia,Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tajikistan,Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe.Includes: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,Cape Verde, Comoros, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, FijiIslands, French Polynesia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana,Haiti, Jamaica, Kiribati, Maldives, Mauritius, Netherlands Antilles,New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, SaintLucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome andPrincipe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Timor-Leste,Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu.Includes: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi,Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros,Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic ofthe Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,Haiti, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali,Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda,Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tajikistan, Togo, Uganda, United Republicof Tanzania, Zimbabwe.Includes: Albania, Armenia, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of),Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, ElSalvador, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras,India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic,Lesotho, Mongolia, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, OccupiedPalestinian Territory, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay,Philippines, Republic of Moldova, Samoa, Sao Tome andPrincipe, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sudan (former),Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Timor-Leste, Ukraine,Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia.Includes: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi,Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad,Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt,Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti,Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, LaoPeople's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar,Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal,Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone,Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan (former), Tajikistan,Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Yemen,Zambia, Zimbabwe."Asia and the Pacific": this aggregate includes developingcountries falling under the responsibility of the FAO RegionalOffice RAP. These include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Democratic People'sRepublic of Korea, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of),Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic,Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, PapuaNew Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore,Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan,Vanuatu, Viet Nam."Near East and North Africa": this aggregate includesdeveloping countries falling under the responsibility of the FAORegional Office RNE. These include Algeria, Egypt, Iran (IslamicRepublic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania,Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Sudan (former), Syrian ArabRepublic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen."Africa": this aggregate includes developing countries fallingunder the responsibility of the FAO Regional Office RAF. Theseinclude: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi,Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad,Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of theCongo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar,Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia,Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal,Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan (former),South Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, United Republic ofTanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.*Sudan (former) refers to the former sovereign state of Sudanprior to July 2011, when South Sudan declared itsindependence. Data for Sudan (post-2011) and South Sudan arenot available.16. "Latin America and the Caribbean" this aggregate includesdeveloping countries falling under the responsibility of the FAORegional Office RLC. These include Antigua and Barbuda,Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational Stateof), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica,Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala,Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincentand the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay,Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).17. In addition to the countries listed in the table, includes: CapeVerde, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti,Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia.18. In addition to the countries listed in the table, includes Georgia.19. In addition to the countries listed in the table, includes:Afghanistan, Maldives.20. In addition to the countries listed in the table, includes: BruneiDarussalam, Myanmar, Timor-Leste.21. In addition to the countries listed in the table, includes OccupiedPalestinian Territory.22. In addition to the countries listed in the table, includes: Antiguaand Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica,Netherlands Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, SaintVincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.23. In addition to the countries listed in the table, includes Belize.24. Includes: Fiji Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati, New Caledonia,Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.KEY 5 proportion of undernourished less than 5 percentna not applicablens not statistically significant.Sources: FAO estimates.

2013The State ofFood Insecurity in the WorldThe multiple dimensions of food securityFOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONSRome, 2013

Required citation:FAO, IFAD and WFP. 2013. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2013.The multiple dimensions of food security. Rome, FAO.The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information productdo not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund forAgricultural Development (IFAD) or of the World Food Programme (WFP) concerning thelegal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities,or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specificcompanies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented,does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO, IFAD or WFP inpreference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.The designations employed and the presentation of material in the maps do not implythe expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO, IFAD or WFP concerningthe legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning thedelimitation of frontiers.ISBN 978-92-5-107916-4 (print)E-ISBN 978-92-5-107917-1 (PDF)FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this informationproduct. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded andprinted for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercialproducts or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the sourceand copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products orservices is not implied in any way.All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercialuse rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed tocopyright@fao.org.FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications)and can be purchased through publications-sales@fao.org. FAO 2013

8Undernourishment around the world in 20138Progress continues 9 but is insufficient overall to achieve the hunger reduction goals9The MDG target could still be reached, but more efforts are needed10Large differences in hunger persist across regions12Why do hunger trends differ across regions?13What was the impact of price volatility observed over recent years?15Key messages16Measuring different dimensions of food security18Food security and its four dimensions23Highlighting links in the suite of indicators28Key messages29Food security dimensions at the national level29Bangladesh: Long-term commitment to food security spurs significantprogress31Ghana: Impressive and broadly shared economic growth fuels foodsecurity achievement33Nepal: Political stability is necessary to make progress sustainable andmore evenly distributed35Nicaragua: Economic and political stability and sound policies addressingsmallholders and the vulnerable pay off37Tajikistan: Structural changes in agriculture are needed to createresilience against external shocks and programmes are needed to ensureadequate diets for the vulnerable39Uganda: Sluggish growth in agricultural productivity results in setbacks41Key messages42Technical annex42Annex 1: Prevalence of undernourishment and progress towardsthe World Food Summit (WFS) and the Millennium Development Goal (MDG)targets in developing regions46Annex 2: The prevalence of undernourishment indicator50Annex 3: Glossary of selected terms used in the report51NotesC O N T E N T S6ForewordAcknowledgements4

F O R E W O R D4Thirteen years ago, world leaders came together to adopt the United Nations MillenniumDeclaration. They committed their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extremepoverty and hunger, setting out a series of targets to be met by 2015, which havebecome known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals express the world’scommitment to improve the lives of billions of people and to address development challenges.Under MDG 1, which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, the world sought tohalve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. With only twoyears remaining, 38 countries have reached this target, 18 of which have also achieved the evenmore stringent goal, established during the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome, of halvingthe absolute number of hungry in the same time period.These successes demonstrate that, with political commitment, effective institutions, goodpolicies, a comprehensive approach and adequate levels of investment, we can win the fightagainst hunger and poverty, a necessary first step to arrive at the other development milestonesset by the MDGs.As with every edition, the 2013 report of The State of Food Insecurity in the World updatesprogress towards the MDG and WFS hunger goals: globally, by region and by individual country.For developing regions as a whole, the latest assessment suggests that further progress has beenmade towards the 2015 MDG target. The same progress, assessed against the more ambitiousWFS goal, obviously appears much more modest. A total of 842 million people, or 12 percent ofthe world’s population, were experiencing chronic hunger in 2011–13, 26 million fewer than thenumber reported last year and down from 1 015 million in 1990–92.The updated assessment also suggests that the MDG 2015 hunger goal remains within reach.With new estimates for the entire MDG horizon, the starting level for undernourishment in the1990–92 base year was 23.6 percent in developing regions, implying an MDG target of11.8 percent for 2015. Assuming that the average annual decline over the past 21 yearscontinues to 2015, the prevalence of undernourishment in developing regions would approach13 percent, a share slightly above the MDG target. With a final push in the next couple of years,we can still reach it.The 2013 report goes beyond measuring chronic food deprivation. It presents a broader suiteof indicators that aims to capture the multidimensional nature of food insecurity, its determinantsand outcomes. This suite, compiled for every country, allows a more nuanced picture of theirfood security status, guiding policy-makers in the design and implementation of targeted andeffective policy measures that can contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity andmalnutrition.Drawing on the suite of indicators, the report also examines the diverse experiences of sixcountries. These experiences show that other forms of malnutrition can sometimes be moresignificant than undernourishment. In such circumstances, policy interventions to improve foodsecurity need to include nutrition-sensitive interventions in agriculture and the food system as awhole, as well as in public health and education, especially of women. Nutrition-focused socialprotection may need to target the most vulnerable, including pregnant women, adolescent girlsand children.Policies

Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan (former), South Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe. *Sudan (former) refers to the former sovereign state of Sudan prior to July 2011, when South Sudan declared its independence. Data for Sudan (post-2011) and South Sudan are not available. 16.