2016 Global hunger index: Getting to zero hunger

Produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and published in October 2016, the 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report – the elevents in an annual series – presents a multidimensional measure of national, regional and global hunger. The IFPRI institute calculates GHI scores each year to assess progress, or the lack thereof, in combating hunger, based on four main indicators: undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting and child mortality.

Based on these indicators, the report reveals that "developing world has made substantial progress in reducing hunger since 2000 and the level of hunger in developing countries as a group has fallen by 29 percent. Yet this progress has been uneven, and great disparities in hunger continue to exist at the regional, national, and subnational levels.  Regionally, the highest GHI scores, and therefore the highest hunger levels, are still found in Africa south of the Sahara and in South Asia. Although GHI scores for these two regions have declined over time, the current levels are still on the upper end of the serious category, closer to the alarming category than to the moderate. Further, although Africa south of the Sahara has achieved the largest absolute improvement since 2000 and South Asia has also seen a sizable reduction, the decline in hunger must accelerate in these regions if the world is to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.

Levels of hunger are serious or alarming in 50 countries. Most of the seven countries with alarming GHI scores are in Africa south of the Sahara. While no countries are classified in the extremely alarming category this year, this high level of hunger quite possibly could still exist. Due to insufficient data, 2016 GHI scores could not be calculated for 13 countries; however, based on available data, as well as the available information from international organizations that specialize in hunger and malnutrition, and the existing literature, 10 of these countries are identified as cause for significant concern: Burundi, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Libya, Papua New Guinea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and the Syrian Arab Republic".

The 2016 Global Hunger Index  provides a detailed analysis of all the differences at regional, national and local levels and  presents recommendations that emphasize the means to accelerate toward Zero Hunger within the context of the 2030 Agenda. These recommendations focus on four areas: whole-of-government commitment to Zero Hunger, transformation of food systems, inclusion and participation of all members of society, and rigorous monitoring to hold international organizations and national governments to account.