Malawi shows progress on reducing hunger, report

A report on world hunger shows that Malawi registered success in tackling the problem over the past decade but it remains in the “alarming” category.

The 2012 Global Hunger Index (GHI) released on Friday says food shortages and malnutrition have been reduced in many parts of Africa, including Malawi but remains “serious.”

In 2005, Malawi introduced the Farm Input Subsidy Programme which is touted for improving food security but pockets of hunger remain which have affected about 1.75 million people.

From the 1990 GHI to the 2012 GHI, 15 countries reduced their scores by 50 percent or more.

“In terms of absolute progress, between the 1990 GHI and the 2012 GHI, Angola, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nicaragua, Niger and Vietnam saw the largest improvements in their scores,” reads the report.

The report adds that 20 countries still have levels of hunger that are “extremely alarming” or “alarming.”

Most countries with alarming GHI scores are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia while two of the three countries with extremely alarming 2012 GHI scores—Burundi and Eritrea—are in sub-Saharan Africa. The third country with an extremely alarming score is Haiti.

Recent developments in the land, water, and energy sectors have been wake-up calls for global food security: the stark reality is that the world needs to produce more food with fewer resources while eliminating wasteful practices and policies.

Demographic changes, income increases, climate change, and poor policies and institutions are driving natural resource scarcity in ways that threaten food production and the environment on which it depends.

The report said income inequality and the low status of women have had a negative effect on the nutrition of millions of poor families.