Concern Worldwide, Welthungerhilfe and IFPRI launch sixth Global Hunger Index Report

The new Global Hunger Index report calls for action to curtail high and volatile prices and protect the poor

Growing demand for biofuels, extreme weather and climate change, and increased speculation in commodities are the main causes of high and volatile food prices, according to the 2011 Global Hunger Index report, The Challenge of Hunger: Taming Price Spikes and Excessive Food Price Volatility.

Welthungerhilfe, Concern Worldwide and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) are releasing their report in advance of World Food Day (October 16th) for the sixth year.

“The poorest and most vulnerable people bear the heaviest burden when food prices spike or swing unpredictably,” said Klaus von Grebmer, lead author of the report and IFPRI Communications Director.  “This report calls for action on several fronts to build resilience and mitigate the effects of volatility, particularly in countries where hunger is most severe.”

In order to identify hunger levels and hot spots, the Global Hunger Index scores countries based on three equally weighted indicators: the proportion of people who are undernourished, the proportion of children under five who are undernourished, and the child mortality rate.
According to the 2011 index, 26 countries have levels of hunger that are alarming or extremely alarming, and all those with extremely alarming levels- Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Eritrea- are in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“The current crisis in the Horn of Africa, while not caused by global prices, highlights the vulnerability of millions of poor people around the world to weather and other shocks, as well as the need to address the root causes of hunger,” said Tom Arnold, Chief Executive at Concern Worldwide.

“This humanitarian tragedy also underscores one of the main motivations behind the Global Hunger Index—the need to provide information,” stressed Wolfgang Jamann, Secretary General at Welthungerhilfe. “Although information will not fill people’s stomachs, addressing the problem of hunger requires timely data about where and why hunger is occurring.”

The report, however, provides a picture of the past, not present, because up-to-the-minute data are not available.

To tame food price volatility and protect against future shock, the report makes several policy recommendations focused on three levels of action:

1. addressing the drivers of food price volatility
2. tackling global market characteristics affecting volatility, including building up food reserves and sharing information on food markets
3. building resilience for the future

To tackle the main drivers of excessive volatility, policy makers need to curtail biofuel subsidies and mandates and discourage the use of food crops in biofuels production. They need to regulate financial activity in food markets and reduce the incentives for speculation in food commodities. Further, they need to invest in climate change adaptation and mitigation, and safeguard smallholder farmers against extreme weather-related shocks.

To build resilience to changing food prices, it is crucial to strengthen social protection systems, improve emergency preparedness and invest in sustainable small-scale agriculture. Policymakers also need to improve livelihood opportunities for both the rural and urban poor, and strengthen the provision of basic services, such as education, healthcare, and sanitation.

Launch events and press conferences for the report are taking place all over the world this week: in Berlin and Washington D.C., in Nairobi (Kenya), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Madhya Pradesh (India). Additional events and launches are happening in Brussels, London and Des Moines (Iowa). The report has been translated into Italian and French, and Cesvi and ACTED are launching the report in Milan and Paris respectively. The report is available in English, German, French and Italian from the participating Alliance2015 members or from IFRPI. Soft copies of the English version are available here.