2008 Global Hunger Index

Klaus von GrebmerInternational Food Policy Research Institute

Why a Global Hunger Index?

• Positioning own country in relation to Positioning own country in relation to other countriesother countries

• Learning from success (progress) and Learning from success (progress) and failures (regress)failures (regress)

• Attention of global community with Attention of global community with regard to hungerregard to hunger

• Incentive to act, to improve Incentive to act, to improve international rankinginternational ranking

• Involves 120 developing and Involves 120 developing and transitional countries countries and transitional countries countries and ranks 88 of themranks 88 of them

• Uses three equally-weighted indicatorsUses three equally-weighted indicators• Combines them into one indexCombines them into one index

2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI)

How Is the GHI calculated?

1 Proportion (%) of people who are calorie deficient, or undernourished

Key indicator of hunger

2 Prevalence (%) of underweight in children under the age of five

Measure of childhood malnutrition—children being the most vulnerable to hunger

3 Under-five mortality rate (%) Measures the proportion of child deaths that are mainly caused by malnutrition and disease

How Is the Global Hunger Index Scaled?

Index Classification Color Code

≥ 30.0 Extremely alarming

20.0 – 29.9 Alarming

10.0 – 19.9 Serious

5.0 – 9.9 Moderate hunger

≤ 4.9 Low hunger

Country Classification: n= 120

Global Trends 1990 - 2008

• Hunger (overall score) has decreased Hunger (overall score) has decreased by less than one-fifth by less than one-fifth • 1990: 18.71990: 18.7• 2008: 15.22008: 15.2

• Most progress in reducing proportion Most progress in reducing proportion of underweight childrenof underweight children• Indicator decreased by 5.9 points since Indicator decreased by 5.9 points since

19901990

• Lowest regional scores (“alarming”) in 2008Lowest regional scores (“alarming”) in 2008

• Sub-Saharan Africa: 23.3 Sub-Saharan Africa: 23.3

• South Asia: 23.0South Asia: 23.0

• Nine of the ten countries with the highest Nine of the ten countries with the highest levels of hunger are in Sub-Saharan Africalevels of hunger are in Sub-Saharan Africa

• No Sub-Saharan African country is among No Sub-Saharan African country is among the ten most improved since 1990the ten most improved since 1990

Regional Trends

Country Level Trends

Best score Mauritius, followed by Jamaica, Moldova, Cuba, and Peru

Worst score Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), followed by Eritrea, Burundi, Niger, and Sierra Leone

Most progress Kuwait, Peru, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, and Mexico

Regress DRC, North Korea, Swaziland, Guinea-Bissau, and Zimbabwe

Country Level Trends

Highest proportion of population with calorie deficiency

Eritrea: 75%DRC: 74%

Highest prevalence of underweight children(a measure of malnutrition)

India, Yemen, and Timor-Leste: more than 40%

Highest child mortality (under 5) rate

Sierra Leone: 27%Angola: 26%

Who Is “Poor”?

Where Do The Where Do The Poor Live?Poor Live?

How Is the Global Hunger Index Scaled?

Index Classification Color Code

≥ 30.0 Extremely alarming

20.0 – 29.9 Alarming

10.0 – 19.9 Serious

5.0 – 9.9 Moderate hunger

≤ 4.9 Low hunger

2008 Global Hunger Index

Progress - Regress

GHI-Winners and Losers 1990 - 2008

Global Food Price Crisis

Impact of Food Price Crisis

• Exacerbates hunger problems in many Exacerbates hunger problems in many countriescountries• Cuts into poor households’ food budgets, Cuts into poor households’ food budgets,

• Serious risks for undernourished infants Serious risks for undernourished infants and children under twoand children under two

• Reduces the amount of food aid that Reduces the amount of food aid that donors can supplydonors can supply

Food Price Crisis and Political Stability

Financial CrisisFinancial Crisis

• The financial crises led to sinking commodity prices

• This is a short term relief for the poor• Capital for long term agricultural

investments is getting scarcer• The sustainable solution of the global food

crisis is at risk

Summary

• There is progress in the fight against hunger, There is progress in the fight against hunger, but not on a broad basebut not on a broad base

• The mixture of progress and regress in The mixture of progress and regress in various countries means globally stagnation various countries means globally stagnation

• This is intolerableThis is intolerable