"External support can provide the decisive impetus"

The 2017 Global Hunger Index describes the global nutrition situation by region in 119 countries. The proportion of undernourished people in the overall population, as well as child emaciation, child stunting and child mortality, are used as indicators. The new report shows that great progress has been made in the fight against hunger since 2000. However, the situation in 51 countries is still "alarming" or "serious" according to the categories of the report. In addition, the political situation in several countries is currently so precarious that no definitive statement can be made about the hunger situation.

Ms Dieckmann, Welthungerhilfe has presented the Global Hunger Index each October for twelve years. What has been achieved since then?

Since then, global hunger levels have fallen by 27 per cent overall since 2000. But there is also bad news this year. According to current figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 815 million people are still currently starving, 38 million more than in 2016. This is mainly due to wars and conflicts in many countries and to droughts and the effects of climate change.

Welthungerhilfe can do little to change some of these factors. Is it frustrating when you see that achievments in the areas of food security and the fight against hunger have been destroyed again by war and violence?

The answer is definitely yes. We work in many countries in which there are violent conflicts like South Sudan, the Central African Republic or Syria. We do good work helping people create a bright future for themselves so that they can feed their children and families. Then violence destroys everything again, because they have to leave their villages, because they have to flee, often to neighbouring countries. Setbacks like that are difficult.

The Global Hunger Index you are presenting identifies the nutrition situation in regions and countries based on a complex approach. Why?

We chose the Global Hunger Index because it helps us better identify long-term developments. We can use it to show how many children are undernourished and the regions in which undernourishment is particularly high. This enables us to develop very targeted courses of action for change. Furthermore, we always select a key issue. In this year's Global Hunger Index, we chose the issue of inequality, hunger and malnutrition to show that inequality also causes hunger and not just conflicts or wars.

But what effect can development cooperation have on eliminating or fighting these types of structural problems, such as inequality and discrimination towards women or ethnic minorities, for example?

Steps can always be taken to change inequality. We can encourage people in the countries and projects in which we work to exercise their rights. We can encourage them to tackle inequality within groups in the community – for example, the inequality between women and men. This process is about advocating for gender equality on behalf of women. There are definitely many opportunities to take action.

Do you see progress in the fight against hunger?

For a start, the Global Hunger Index shows that the nutrition situation has improved through the years. There is currently only one country in which there is extremely alarming hunger – and that is the Central African Republic. Moreover, there are several countries in which the situation is alarming, like Chad, Liberia, Sudan and Yemen. However, there are countries in Asia that have made great progress. Cambodia and Myanmar are among them. Furthermore, there are no longer any countries in any part of Latin America that are in a serious hunger situation. And there is also a whole string of countries in Africa that are no longer in an extremely alarming or alarming situation, like Burkina Faso or Benin.

The international community wants to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030. How can this be achieved?

Major efforts are still needed to achieve the ambitious goal of a world without hunger by 2030. For one, we must adequately invest in smallholder agriculture. Additional investments must go into developing the economy, value chains and good governance. And of course, the previously mentioned problems, like war, conflicts and also climate change, must be tackled and solved. As non-governmental organisations, we have only minor influence on the latter challenges, in particular. For these, the main concern involves political decisions that must be made. This is why, for example, the climate conference taking place in Bonn in November will play an important role again.

And how is Welthungerhilfe contributing to this goal, also in cooperation with other development organisations?

We are active in 38 countries. The majority of these countries are in Africa. In my nine years as president, I have not visited a single project, whether in Asia, Africa or Latin America, in which the quality of people's lives has not been improved by our work. That also applies to crisis-stricken countries like South Sudan. Without the help of non-governmental organisations, the situation would be utterly hopeless for the people living there.

We do not do this work alone. There is close cooperation with other organisations in many countries and projects. We often complement each other in places like refugee camps, where we provide food and others provide medical services. It is always necessary to have a double-pronged approach; a good political solution is needed. At the same time, we have to take action as non-governmental organisations so that people can be empowered locally. They need to be given the strength to have the courage to continue on the path to peaceful development.

If you look back at years past, which Welthungerhilfe accomplishments make you most proud?

Pride is perhaps the wrong word, but we are always happy when our work is done and we can leave regions and projects. In other words, when we are successful in helping people help themselves. In many Latin American countries, for example, we no longer support specific food security projects; instead, we provide assistance for local organisations that now want to independently implement processes like land reform in their countries.

Where do you see a need for improvement in the work Welthungerhilfe does?

Our colleagues on site learn every day because the challenges change and new methods or approaches are developed. The recurring questions we ask ourselves are: What advancements are there in agriculture? Are there better seeds? Are there better methods for cultivation or water extraction? It is a continuous process. What remains important is that we continue to closely cooperate with civil society in the individual countries. I am firmly convinced that, in the end, only the people themselves can advance their country. External support can provide decisive impetus, but in the end it has to happen within the countries themselves.

The interview was conducted by Michael Ruffert

About the 2017 Global Hunger Index