International Food Policy Research Institute

There is growing interest within the climate change and development community in using seasonal forecast information to reduce the losses to agriculture resulting from climate variability, especially within food-insecure countries. However, forecast systems are expensive to establish and maintain, and therefore gauging the potential economic return to investments in forecast systems is crucial. Most studies that evaluate seasonal forecasts focus on developed countries and/or overlook agriculture’s economywide linkages.

TO BE EFFECTIVE, COMMITMENTS TO ACTION MUST BE IMPLEMENTED AND ENFORCED. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES AND INTERVENTIONS DEPENDS on converting political commitment to practical action. How are governments and other stakeholders doing in implementing policies and interventions that reflect commitment?

THE FOOD, SOCIAL, HEALTH, AND LIVING ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH PEOPLE MAKE DECISIONS HAVE A HUGE INFLUENCE ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS. For optimal nutrition, these underlying factors matter. For example, the food environment should make healthy diets available, affordable, accessible, and desirable. The social environment should set norms about good nutrition and hygiene and support people in caring for their nutrition and the nutrition of their families.

This study showed how arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya are particularly affected by undernutrition in women and children. Despite undernutrition improving in the rest of the country, in the ASAL areas the trends appear to be negative, particularly with respect to wasting in children and women being underweight. Temperature shocks emerge as the most detrimental factor for nutrition, again especially in ASAL areas.

COMMITMENT WITHOUT FUNDING REPRESENTS UNFULFILLED GOOD INTENTIONS. IF NUTRITION-PROMOTING ACTIONS ARE TO BE IMPLEMENTED AND TARGETS MET, they need to be financed. Financing for nutrition comes from governments (domestic), from international sources—the bilateral and multilateral aid agencies and foundations that make up the “donor” community—and from people themselves.

TO GUIDE, TRACK, AND LEARN FROM OUR EFFORTS TO REDUCE MALNUTRITION, WE REQUIRE CREDIBLE, TIMELY, AND USEFUL DATA ON NUTRITION OUTCOMES AND INPUTS. IN THE ERA of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the amount of data available to assess progress in development grew rapidly through formal surveys, administrative data, civil registration, and mobile telephones (UN 2014b; World Bank and WHO 2014).

Для международного сообщества 2015 год стал поворотным моментом. Окончание срока выполнения Целей развития тысячелетия подчеркнуло поразительные успехи, достигнутые с 1990 года: доля людей, живущих в крайней нищете, уровень детской смертности и масштабы голода сократились почти вдвое. Однако по-прежнему остаются огромные проблемы.

The Global Food Policy Report is IFPRI’s flagship publication. This year’s annual report examines major food policy issues, global and regional developments, and commitments made in 2015, and presents data on key food policy indicators. The report also proposes key policy options for 2016 and beyond to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2015, the global community made major commitments on sustainable development and climate change.

ASSESS PROGRESS AGAINST GLOBAL TARGETS; MAKE SMART COMMITMENTS; ACCELERATE IMPLEMENTATION; ACCELERATE THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE UNDERLYING DRIVERS; FINANCE THE GLOBAL TARGETS; MEASURE PROGRESS AT THE NATIONAL AND SUBNATIONAL LEVEL

The Global Food Policy Report is IFPRI’s flagship publication. This year’s annual report examines major food policy issues, global and regional developments, and commitments made in 2015, and presents data on key food policy indicators. The report also proposes key policy options for 2016 and beyond to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2015, the global community made major commitments on sustainable development and climate change.

The 2015 Global Hunger Index suggests that despite progress in reducing hunger worldwide, hunger levels in 52 of 117 countries in the 2015 Global Hunger Index remain “serious” or “alarming.” Since achieving and maintaining food and nutrition security (FNS) remains a goal for all countries, it is important to understand the individual, national, and global factors that affect FNS. This paper proposes an analytical framework to identify and analyze the respective roles of key long-term drivers of FNS.

En la actualidad, pocos son los obstáculos a los que se enfrenta la comunidad mundial que puedan compararse en magnitud con el de la malnutrición, una condición que afecta directamente a una de cada tres personas. La malnutrición se manifiesta de muy distintas maneras: retraso en el crecimiento y el desarrollo de los niños; personas esqueléticas o propensas a las infecciones; personas con exceso de peso o que corren el riesgo de contraer enfermedades crónicas debido al consumo excesivo de sal, azúcar o grasas; e incluso personas con carencias de vitaminas o minerales de importancia.

More than a decade of strong partnership between the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Food Programme (WFP) began with a shared goal of creating more effective and efficient food aid distribution systems. Over time, the collaboration moved toward designing social protection programs that use food and cash transfers to improve nutrition for the poor.

The year 2015 saw a new global commitment to sustainable development that will require a reshaping of the world’s food system. The well-being of people and the planet will depend on creation of a food system that is more efficient, inclusive, climate-smart, sustainable, nutrition- and health-driven, and business-friendly.

The Global Nutrition Report, an independent accountability mechanism for progress and action on nutrition, calls on all actors to make SMART Commitments to Nutrition Action—that is, commitments that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. Specifically, we call on governments to make SMART Commitments to Nutrition Action to achieve national nutrition targets and to put in place monitoring systems that allow them and others to assess progress.

As countries design climate change adaptation policies, it is important to understand how workers alter behavior in response to changes in temperature. Nonetheless, the impact of temperature on labor markets is poorly documented, especially in Africa. We address this gap by analyzing panel surveys of labor choices by sector, contractual arrangement, and migration status in four East African countries. Merging survey information with high-resolution climate data, we assess how workers shift employment in response to temperature anomalies.

Parmi les obstacles auxquels la communauté internationale est confrontée aujourd’hui, rares sont ceux qui rivalisent en intensité avec la malnutrition, une condition qui touche directement 1 personne sur 3.

This food policy report is a response to growing concerns about the impacts of climate change on Latin American economies, agriculture, and people. It assesses both local and global effects of changing agricultural yields on the economy, subnational regions, and different household types, including male- and female-headed households in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. The three countries reflect economic and geographic diversity in Latin America and more than half of the region’s population. Climate change impacts tend to be relatively small at an economywide level in all three countries.

Few challenges facing the global community today match the scale of malnutrition, a condition that directly affects 1 in 3 people. Malnutrition manifests itself in many different ways: as poor child growth and development; as individuals who are skin and bone or prone to infection; as those who are carrying too much weight or whose blood contains too much sugar, salt, fat, or cholesterol; or those who are deficient in important vitamins or minerals.

Poucos desafios enfrentados hoje pela comunidade global se comparam, em escala, à malnutrição, distúrbio que afeta diretamente uma em cada três pessoas. A malnutrição se manifesta de diversas maneiras: no crescimento e no desenvolvimento infantis insatisfatórios; em pessoas que são apenas pele e osso ou estão propensas a contrair infecções; em quem tem excesso de peso ou que correm o risco de contrair doenças crônicas por consumirem açúcar, sal ou gordura demais; ou naqueles que apresentam deficiência de vitaminas ou minerais importantes.