In the annual UN hunger report, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 – SOFI),published on 27 May 2015 by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) it is noted that world hunger has fallen to under 800 million people. This was the MGD number 1 target, and 72 countries achieved this Millennium Development target of halving proportion of the chronically undernourished. In transitioning to a post- 2015 agenda, since the MDG target was 2015, the report reviewed progress made since 1990 for every country, region and the world at large. This progress was assessed by measuring undernourishment and hunger, as well as the prevalence of underweight children under five years of age.

FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva noted that “The near-achievement of the MDG hunger targets shows us that we can indeed eliminate the scourge of hunger in our lifetime. We must be the Zero Hunger generation. That goal should be mainstreamed into all policy interventions and at the heart of the new sustainable development agenda to be established this year,”

Uganda’s statistics

Despite great news on the world front, Uganda has not done well in this area:

• Proportion of undernourished in total population 1990-1992: 23.2 %

Regional statistics

According to the report the prevalence of undernourishment – which measures the proportion of people who are unable to consume enough food for an active and healthy life – has declined to 12.9 percent of the population in developing regions down from 23.3 percent a quarter of a century ago”. The report showed that Sub-Saharan Africa was the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment in the world at 23.3%

Kenya – 2014-16: 21.2 %

Tanzania – 2014-16: 32.1 %

“If we truly wish to create a world free from poverty and hunger, then we must make it a priority to invest in the rural areas of developing countries where most of the world’s poorest and hungriest people live,” said IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze. “We must work to create a transformation in our rural communities so they provide decent jobs, decent conditions and decent opportunities. We must invest in rural areas so that our nations can have balanced growth and so that the three billion people who live in rural areas can fulfil their potential.”

The report notes that challenging global economic conditions hampered the achievement of food security in various regions. These included extreme weather events, natural disasters, political instability and civil strife. The political will to make hunger eradication a paramount development objective fostered progress.

“Men, women and children need nutritious food every day to have any chance of a free and prosperous future. Healthy bodies and minds are fundamental to both individual and economic growth, and that growth must be inclusive for us to make hunger history,” said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin.

The report gave some factors that influenced food security:

• Improved agricultural productivity ;
• Inclusive economic growth; and
• The expansion of social protection.

This comes as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the government of Uganda sign a new framework to guide the organization’s operations in the country for the next five years signed by the Minister who represented government Tress Buchanayandi and Alhaji Jallow who represents FAO in Uganda and witnessed by nine FAO, Rome based Permanent Representatives.