Tackling the Global Food Crisis: A Mission Unaccomplished

A new report released today,
The High Food Price Challenge: A Review of Responses to Combat Hunger,
by the UK Hunger Alliance and the Oakland Institute, reveals that a
major initiative, launched by the Group of 8 (G8), in July 2009 has
failed to address the global hunger crisis, which currently affects
more than a billion people.

The G8 announced the L'Aquila Food Security Initiative in July 2009
to support food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture, with
a promise of $20 billion worth of investment over three years.
However, one year on from the L'Aquila commitments, it is evident
that the international response to the food price crisis has been
insufficient and often inappropriate, despite rising levels of hungry
people.

"Despite lofty aid commitments at international summits, only a
marginal proportion of the G8's financial pledges to address hunger
have actually been disbursed," said Frederic Mousseau, Senior Fellow
at the Oakland Institute and author of the report. "The bulk of the
response to the food crisis was borne by remittances from migrants to
their home country, which outstripped aid to the developing world by a
margin of three to one in 2008," he continued.

Based on a thorough review of national and international responses to
global hunger and featuring case studies from individual countries and
regions that confronted the food price crisis using diverse
strategies, The High Food Price Challenge shows that, beyond providing
aid money, it is imperative that governments and international
institutions rethink their policies to mitigate hunger by, above
all:

* Broadening the vision of social protection beyond cash and food
transfers into a comprehensive range of measures that include support
to local food production

* Scaling up treatment of malnutrition and expanding the scope of
nutrition beyond feeding and treatment programs to include responses
that recognize the importance of agricultural policies and
practices

* Boosting food production in a sustainable way focused on
investments in favor of small-holders, the rural poor, marginal
groups, and women

* Providing more resources to food and agriculture and ensuring
donor announcements on responses to the food price crisis are closely
monitored.

The High Food Price Challenge: A Review of Responses to Combat Hunger
is a joint publication of the UK Hunger Alliance and the Oakland
Institute.

The UK Hunger Alliance is a forum concerned
with tackling hunger and working towards the achievement of the first
Millennium Development Goal. Alliance members who participated in the
publication of the report include Action Against Hunger, CARE
International, Concern Worldwide UK, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK
and World Vision UK.

The Oakland Institute is an independent policy think tank whose
mission is to increase public participation and promote fair debate on
critical social, economic, and environmental issues.
(www.oaklandinstitute.org).

Download the Full Report at
https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/pdfs/high_food_prices_web_final.pdf.

(*Alliance members who
participated in the publication of the report include Action Against
Hunger, CARE International, Concern Worldwide UK, Oxfam GB, Save the
Children UK and World Vision UK)