Uniting on Food Assistance

The global problem of hunger and malnutrition shows no signs of abating. Around the world, 925 million people – more than the populations of the European Union and the United States combined – are currently undernourished. At least double that number suffer from insufficient intake of crucial micronutrients such as iodine, iron, vitamin A and zinc. Year by year, conflicts, natural disasters and rising food prices keep pushing millions into hunger and poverty.

Combating hunger and food insecurity requires a comprehensive approach. Chronic food insecurity needs long-term development strategies. Acute hunger and undernutrition at the same time need lifesaving food assistance – the focus of this paper. Food assistance policies and operational practices have seen considerable innovation in the last decade.

Despite this progress, food assistance still falls short of its potential to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the acutely malnourished. Some of these shortfalls can be overcome through improved cooperation and coordination between the main food assistance donors, the European Commission and the United States, and through convergence among the major donors and operational agencies around innovative practices.