Efforts to Reduce Hunger Still Slow, Says IFPRI Report

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says the "worldwide progress in reducing hunger remains slow." In the 2009 Global Hunger Index (GHI) The Challenge of Hunger: Focus on Financial Crisis and Gender Inequality released by IFPRI, the 2009 global GHI has fallen by only one quarter from the 1990 GHI. Southeast Asia, the Near East and North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean have reduced hunger significantly since 1990, but the GHI remains high in South Asia. Progress in in Sub-Saharan Africa has been marginal.

The report which records the state of hunger both worldwide and country by country, shows that In 2009, "high and volatile food prices combined with economic recession posed significant risks to poor and vulnerable households, with often dire consequences for their food security." It adds that "global economic downturn could make many countries even more vulnerable to hunger and that high rates of hunger are strongly linked to gender inequalities. Overall, limited progress has been made in reducing hunger since 1990."

To download the full report visit http://www.ifpri.org/publication/2009-global-hunger-index