Globally, the level of hunger and malnutrition is still “serious”, – says the Global Hunger Index 2018 (GHI). If the fight for “Zero hunger” is not accelerated, about 50 countries will not reach the objectives by 2030.
Globally, the level of hunger and malnutrition is still “serious”, – says the Global Hunger Index 2018 (GHI) Report, titled Forced Migration and Hunger. If the fight for “Zero hunger” is not accelerated, about 50 countries will not reach the objectives by 2030.
The Global Hunger Index is an instrument used to measure the level of hunger at the global, regional and local level; it is updated annually. The index is the result of a combination of four main indicators: undernourished population, children under 5 years old suffering from wasting, children under 5 years old suffering from stunting and the mortality rate of children under 5 years old. Then, a value going from 0 to 100 is assigned to each indicator. In the third phase, the scores are aggregated so to arrive at the GHI for each country on the basis of three dimensions: inadequate food supply, child undernourishment (which includes child stunting and wasting) and child mortality.
Again, each country will have a specific position on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents no hunger at all and 100 the worst level. “The 2018 Global Hunger Index (GHI) indicates that the level of hunger and undernutrition worldwide falls into the serious category, at a value of 20.9, down from 29.2 in 2000”. However, “GHI projections show that at the pace of hunger reduction observed since 2000, approximately 50 countries will fail to reach low hunger levels as defined by the GHI Severity Scale by 2030; at present, 79 countries have failed to reach that designation according to the 2018 GHI”. That this negative projection is likely to occur can be proved also looking at the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018: according to the latter “for the third year in a row, there has been a rise in world hunger. The absolute number of undernourished people, i.e. those facing chronic food deprivation, has increased to nearly 821 million in 2017, from around 804 million in 2016” (FAO, 2018). This means that despite progress has been made since the beginning of the new millenium, the trend has been reversing in the last three years.
The 2018 GHI Report is focused on the correlation between hunger and forced migration, analysed by Laura Hammond, a Senior lecturer in development studies at SOAS University, London. According to the latter, especially during conflicts and political disorders, the two phenomena may be at the same time one the cause of the other. Indeed, during conflicts people often can neither provide for their food nor have access to markets, due to economical reasons. As a consequence of the lack of food and other basic social amenities, they are forced to move. “In many cases, the conditions precipitate crises of forced migration, and those who are displaced both within and beyond their home countries struggle to properly feed themselves and their families. This is the case in many of the countries that rank the worst according to the GHI, as well as the countries for which there are inadequate data to calculate scores” (2018 GHI Report).
On the basis of the 2018 GHI results, it has emerged that the main reason for the impossibility to reach low level for about 50 country, and thus SDG number 2 “Zero Hunger” by 2030, is a wrong perception of the issue. As Laura Hammond writes “hunger is often understood to result from environmental or natural causes. (…) In fact, hunger, like displacement, is usually the result of political circumstances. Natural disasters—droughts, floods, and severe weather events—lead to hunger and displacement only when governments are unprepared or unwilling to respond because they either lack the capacity or engage in deliberate neglect or abuse of power”.
Consequently, to efficiently eradicate hunger, long-term strategies that complement the traditional approach of humanitarian assistance need to be adopted. International institutions and organizations should favour the autonomy and well governance of these countries and people so to render them not dependent anymore on external aids. This could be done by collaborating with the local governments as well as by favouring people’s access to land, health systems and education. In particular, it is important to pose especial attention to the most vulnerable populations such as refugees and IDPs, women and children. In resume, the recommendations are Not to leave anyone behind, To implement long-term solutions and Demonstrate solidarity and share responsibility.
