Hunger and under nutrition must be priority - IFPRI

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) 2013 Report has advocate that ending hunger and under nutrition by 2025 should be a priority agenda in post 2015 development agenda worldwide.

The Global Food Policy Report circulated by IFPRI and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday said though discussions of the post-2015 development agenda have focused on the goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 203, it was not possible to fight poverty without simultaneously taking steps to reduce hunger and under nutrition.

It said hunger and under nutrition are responsible for poverty, as a result, negatively affects health, and had social and economic costs implications. Adding: “Under nutrition limits people’s educational achievements and productivity, a result that in turn checks economic growth”.

Signed by the Director-General of IFPRI, Mr. Shenggen Fan, the report noted that with less than two years to hit the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the world’s headway made in reducing hunger since the early 1990s, progress in halving hunger was not on track.

“Much work still must be done. The fight to end hunger and under nutrition must continue beyond 2015 as a key priority," it added.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 842 million people or one in eight people worldwide go hungry every day. And more than 2 billion people suffer from “hidden hunger,” or a shortage of essential micronutrients, such as iron, vitamin A, and zinc.

The report explained that countries such as Brazil, China, Thailand, and Vietnam have dramatically reduced hunger and under nutrition, suggesting that it could be realistic to reach zero hunger and under nutrition by 2025.

These countries implemented agriculture-led, social protection-led, and/or nutrition intervention-led strategies and reaped the benefits. Since 1990, China has also cut the prevalence of undernourishment by nearly half, from almost 23 to 11 percent.

“China and Vietnam are on pace to virtually eliminate hunger by 2025, while Brazil and Thailand have already done so. Other developing countries can learn from these experiences as they chart their own paths to a food and nutrition-secure future”.

The report suggested that ending hunger and under nutrition would require a mix of agricultural, social protection-based and nutritional strategies whilst in Africa south of the Sahara, agriculture would play a key role.

In Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East, the report said growth in agricultural and rural non-farm activities could help reduce poverty whilst in Eastern Europe and Latin America, targeted nutrition and social protection programs could also help eliminate hunger and under nutrition.

It also suggested that focus should be on developing sustainable, people-focused goals with clear targets and timelines for ending hunger and under nutrition by 2025.

In order to achieve this goal, the report explained that it would be crucial to promote country-driven, context-specific, and evidence-based strategies; build on evidence and past experiences such as those from Brazil, China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Share ideas to provide lessons learned and create a “snowball effect” for positive changes and enhance and expand partnerships.

IFPRI’s reviewed major food policy developments and trends from the past year, documents emerging issues, examine key challenges and opportunities, described the rising political commitment to food and nutrition security, and set an agenda for action for 2014 and beyond. In particular, it calls for ending hunger and under nutrition by 2025.