Setbacks in the fight against hunger

Successes in overcoming hunger stagnate. The combination of COVID-19, climate change and violent conflicts is speeding up a reversal of this trend. This is evidenced by the World Hunger Index (WHI) that Welthungerhilfe has been compiling annually with partners since 2006. The Index was presented on 14 October at a joint online conference hosted by Welthungerhilfe, Concern Worldwide and KfW with prestigious speakers. They all agreed that a concerted effort to join the forces of humanitarian aid, development cooperation and peacebuilding is necessary to still achieve the goal of “zero hunger” by 2030.

“We don’t want to just sound the alarm, we want to also come up with solutions,” said KfW Head of Division Barbara Schnell in her opening statement. Around the world, roughly 811 million people are suffering from hunger and 41 million are living on the brink of famine. Over the past decades, the number of starving people has been steadily decreasing; this trend is now slowing down to a dangerous level.

The World Hunger Index is based on four indicators, one of which is undernutrition. It increased again for the first time in decades – a worrying reversal. “The fact is that there is enough food to feed the entire global population,” emphasised Barbara Schnell. “Hunger is a problem that can be solved.”

Short window of opportunity

“We will fight to make hunger a thing of the past, but we only have a short window of opportunity,” urged Dominic MacSorley, CEO of the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide. His organisation has been compiling the WHI together with Welthungerhilfe since 2007. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, called to mind the famines that threatened her country 170 years ago and forced many people to emigrate. Ireland is currently one of the five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council and, in this role, is focusing its efforts on eradicating hunger.

The World Hunger Index shows that 47 countries are not likely to reach the goal of a low hunger level, not to mention the UN Sustainable Development Goal of “zero hunger” (SDG 2) by 2030. Particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, overcoming hunger by then appears futile.

Make rigorous use of existing instruments

“We lack the political will to truly make the goal of “zero hunger” a reality,” criticised Ambassador Dr Günter Sautter, Germany’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. “Our efforts must go beyond humanitarian aid and do everything to end conflicts and food insecurity.” He described UN Security Council Resolution 2417 of 2018, which condemns the use of hunger as a weapon of war, as an important instrument in these efforts. According to Sautter, “these instruments need to be used more systematically and rigorously”. The WHI clearly shows where to start.

Hunger can fuel conflicts and conflicts result in hunger. “We must improve the food situation to establish peace and vice versa,” cautioned Dan Smith, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and guest author of this year’s report for the WHI. Also, the number of violent conflicts is once again on the rise after decades of decline. While the number of conflicts decreased between 1995 and 2010 from about 50 to 30, it has since almost doubled again. This number does not include the non-state conflicts, which increased even more. In a powerful statement, the scientist called for a better understanding of the links between conflicts and hunger: “We have to get rid of our silo mentality and leave our comfort zone if we want to advance the cause of world peace.”

Successful UN interventions

In the panel discussion that followed, chaired by Deutsche Welle journalist Christine Mhundwa, the focus was on designing possible solutions. Rebecca Vetharaniam Richards from the Policy Division of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) identified food insecurity as “a failure of institutions at different levels”. She saw the challenges in a lack of coherence between local and international efforts and a lack of political will. However, Richards also gave examples of where the international community has been successful in the fight against conflict and hunger. For example, disputes over water in Tajikistan were eased, collective farmers’ markets were set up in Bangladesh by residents and refugees, and a system of cashless transfer of social assistance was created in Lebanon. “We need to tap into the in-depth knowledge of local people,” said the WFP representative.

Dr Rami Zurayk from the agricultural department at the American University of Beirut, praised the outstanding accomplishments of the WFP, also in Lebanon. But he asked whether it was enough to establish peace if this reinforced inequalities that led to tensions. He referred to the role played by international actors in giving rise to violent conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

“Toxic cocktail”

Amina Ibrahim Abdulla, Regional Director of Concern Worldwide for East Africa, lamented the lack of access to people in regions suffering from hunger. Humanitarian aid workers cannot move around safely. She warned that young people, women and minorities need to be involved in peacebuilding. “The more inclusive the process, the more sustainable the solution.”

Louis Dorviller, Country Director of Welthungerhilfe for the D.R. Congo talked about the complex problems in his country. 41% of children under the age of five in Congo suffer from impaired growth due to malnutrition. After 30 years of war, the country is being hit by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, “a toxic cocktail,” said Dorviller. He called for clearly identifying responsibilities and ending impunity. “For us, resilience means distributing power differently with the aim of strengthening communities and working towards peace.”

Political will is a decisive factor

Finally Marlehn Thieme, Chair of the Board of Welthungerhilfe, emphasised that the cooperation among three groups of stakeholders working in humanitarian aid, development cooperation and peacebuilding is decisive for improving the food situation around the world and still achieving the goal of “zero hunger”. “The most important factor is bold political will,” she said. In many declarations, politicians have shown their determination to fight hunger. But this now has to be followed by deeds.