Private Sector Can Play Critical Role in Easing World Hunger
A rise in global hunger after nearly a decade of steady progress is driven largely by a rise in conflict.
Originally published in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
By Mark Kennedy and Richard Leach
One of every nine people in the world is hungry. Globally, hunger trend lines are moving in the wrong direction for the third consecutive year, with new evidence indicating a rise in world hunger to an estimated 821 million people, up from approximately 804 million last year. This latest assessment confirms the ongoing threat to food security and development gains across much of the planet.
This rise in global hunger after nearly a decade of steady progress — which saw the number of hungry people worldwide fall by almost 20 percent, from 945 million to 784 million between 2005 and 2015 — is driven in large part by a rise in conflict, especially in the Middle East and Africa.
Today, we have more people displaced by violence, conflict and persecution than ever before. And, while war and conflict remain significant drivers of hunger and poverty, food insecurity can also be a driver of instability.
