10 good news from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN:
- Global hunger has continued to decline. Still 795 million people are undernourished globally in 2015, but 167 million less than 10 years ago, and 216 million less than in 1990–92.
- In developing regions, the proportion of undernourished people in the total population has decreased from 23.3% to 12.9% over the last 20 years.
- Just over 1 in 9 people in the world are still suffering from hunger in the period 2014 – 2016, although the total number of undernourished people is declining.
- 2015 marks the end of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) monitoring period. The target to reduce world hunger by 50% was only narrowly missed, but optimistically, many regions such as Latin America and south-eastern Asia comfortably reached their targets.
- South America has been able to reduce the prevalence of undernourishment by more than 50% and has brought it below 5 percent.
- The highest burden of hunger occurs in Southern Asia, where 281 million people are undernourished. In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in every 4 people, or 23.2% of the population, are hungry.
- Out of 129 developing countries, 72 of them, or more than half, have reached the MDG hunger target.
- The two indicators of hunger, as defined by the Millennium Development Goals: the prevalence of undernourishment, and the proportion of children under 5 years old who are underweight – have both declined.
- Economic growth is a key success factor for reducing undernourishment. Enhancing the productivity and incomes of smallholder family farmers is key to progress.
- Conflict, political instability or natural disasters have resulted in protracted crises, adding to vulnerability and food insecurity
Visit the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – FAO for more information.