The fifth edition of this publication provides the latest estimates of the number of chronically hungry people in the world and reports on global and national efforts to achieve the World Food Summit (WFS) target of halving hunger levels by the year 2015. It also considers the impact on food security of a range of factors including: the HIV/AIDS pandemic, improved management of water resources, and the increasing integration of developing countries into international markets and trade agreements. The report identifies encouraging signs of progress towards the WFS target, with some developing countries having adopted a twin-track strategy for tackling hunger levels by combining immediate food interventions with longer term development initiatives to increase employment, incomes and food production in impoverished communities. However, these countries are more the exception than the rule, with estimates indicating that the number of undernourished people across the developing world has risen by 4.5 million each year over the most recent four year period for which data is available. Overall, the report highlights the fact that the WFS goal is still within reach, but without a redoubled national and global commitment it is unlikely to be achieved.

New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting.

The United States is viewed by the world as a country with plenty of food, yet not all households in America are food secure, meaning access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. A proportion of the population experiences food insecurity at some time in a given year because of food deprivation and lack of access to food due to economic resource constraints. Still, food insecurity in the United States is not of the same intensity as in some developing countries. Since 1995 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has annually published statistics on the extent of food insecurity and food insecurity with hunger in U.S. households. These estimates are based on a survey measure developed by the U.S. Food Security Measurement Project, an ongoing collaboration among federal agencies, academic researchers, and private organizations. USDA requested the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies to convene a panel of experts to undertake a two-year study in two phases to review at this 10-year mark the concepts and methodology for measuring food insecurity and hunger and the uses of the measure. In Phase 2 of the study the panel was to consider in more depth the issues raised in Phase 1 relating to the concepts and methods used to measure food security and make recommendations as appropriate. The Committee on National Statistics appointed a panel of 10 experts to examine the above issues. In order to provide timely guidance to USDA, the panel issued an interim Phase 1 report, Measuring Food Insecurity and Hunger: Phase 1 Report. That report presented the panel's preliminary assessments of the food security concepts and definitions; the appropriateness of identifying hunger as a severe range of food insecurity in such a survey-based measurement method; questions for measuring these concepts; and the appropriateness of a household survey for regularly monitoring food security in the U.S. population. It provided interim guidance for the continued production of the food security estimates. This final report primarily focuses on the Phase 2 charge. The major findings and conclusions based on the panel's review and deliberations are summarized.

This book documents and analyzes the experiences of the UN's first Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. It highlights the conceptual advances in the legal understanding of the right to food in international human rights law, as well as analyzes key practical challenges through experiences in 11 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Ten years have elapsed since the World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome pledged to halve the number of undernourished people in the world by no later than 2015, and in October 2006 FAO's Committee on World Food Security is conducting a mid-term review of progress towards this target. On this occasion, the eighth edition of The State of Food Insecurity in the World also examines progress towards the WFS target. The main conclusion is that we have been standing still in terms of hunger reduction. The number of hungry people in the developing countries has not fallen relative to that of 1990-92, the established baseline period against which progress in reducing hunger is measured. Several countries have advanced towards the target but in many others the number of undernourished people has risen. Progress has been made towards the hunger reduction target of Millennium Development Goal 1, which calls for a halving of the proportion of undernourished people by 2015, and prospects for reaching the MDG target are relatively promising. On the other hand, the more ambitious WFS target will clearly not be met without a very serious intensification of hunger reduction efforts. The report presents a review of progress and setbacks in the various regions and discusses some of the constraints to hunger reduction efforts and challenges yet to be faced. It emphasizes the urgent need to broaden the areas of progress if we are to be successful in achieving the WFS target. The final section of The State of Food Insecurity in the Worldhighlights some of the main lessons learnt in hunger reduction and lays out a broad agenda for accelerated progress. It concludes with an appeal for stepping up action and emphasizes that, if the political will is harnessed, the WFS target can be met

In recent years, several major drivers have put the world off track to ending world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. The challenges have grown with the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures. This report presents the first global assessment of food insecurity and malnutrition for 2020 and offers some indication of what hunger might look like by 2030 in a scenario further complicated by the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes new estimates of the cost and affordability of healthy diets, which provide an important link between the food security and nutrition indicators and the analysis of their trends. Altogether, the report highlights the need for a deeper reflection on how to better address the global food security and nutrition situation. To understand how hunger and malnutrition have reached these critical levels, this report draws on the analyses of the past four editions, which have produced a vast, evidence-based body of knowledge of the major drivers behind the recent changes in food security and nutrition. These drivers, which are increasing in frequency and intensity, include conflicts, climate variability and extremes, and economic slowdowns and downturns – all exacerbated by the underlying causes of poverty and very high and persistent levels of inequality. In addition, millions of people around the world suffer from food insecurity and different forms of malnutrition because they cannot afford the cost of healthy diets. From a synthesized understanding of this knowledge, updates and additional analyses are generated to create a holistic view of the combined effects of these drivers, both on each other and on food systems, and how they negatively affect food security and nutrition around the world. In turn, the evidence informs an in-depth look at how to move from silo solutions to integrated food systems solutions. In this regard, the report proposes transformative pathways that specifically address the challenges posed by the major drivers, also highlighting the types of policy and investment portfolios required to transform food systems for food security, improved nutrition, and affordable healthy diets for all. The report observes that, while the pandemic has caused major setbacks, there is much to be learned from the vulnerabilities and inequalities it has laid bare. If taken to heart, these new insights and wisdom can help get the world back on track towards the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in all its forms.