The developing world has made progress in reducing hunger since 2000. The 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows that the level of hunger in developing countries as a group has fallen by 27 percent. Yet the state of hunger in the world remains serious. This marks the tenth year that IFPRI has assessed global hunger using this multidimensional measure. This report’s GHI scores are based on a new, improved formula that replaces the child underweight indicator of previous years with child stunting and child wasting. This change reflects the latest thinking on the most suitable indicators for child undernutrition, one of three dimensions of hunger reflected in the GHI formula. Across regions and countries, GHI scores vary considerably. Regionally, the highest GHI scores, and therefore the highest hunger levels, are still found in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia. Despite achieving the largest absolute improvements since 2000, these two regions still suffer from serious levels of hunger. Levels of hunger are alarming or serious in 52 countries. Most of the eight countries with alarming GHI scores are in Africa south of the Sahara. While no countries are classified in the extremely alarming category this year, this high level of hunger could still exist. Due to insufficient data, 2015 GHI scores could not be calculated for places that recently suffered from high levels of hunger, including Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. 2015 Global Hunger Index Interactive App: http://ghi.ifpri.org

The 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report—the tenth in an annual series—presents a multidimensional measure of national, regional, and global hunger. It shows that the world has made progress in reducing hunger since 2000, but still has a long way to go, with levels of hunger still serious or alarming in 52 countries. The theme of this year’s report is armed conflict and the challenge of hunger. Conflict and hunger are closely associated. Indeed, conflict is the main cause of persistent severe hunger, and countries with the lowest levels of food security are often engaged in or recently emerged from war. Although conflict and hunger often travel hand in hand, history has shown that hunger need not result from conflict. 2015 Global Hunger Index Interactive App: http://ghi.ifpri.org

This issue of the Abstract Digest features the 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, the 2015 Global Nutrition Report, the India Health Report, two special supplements focused on child feeding, and several other interesting articles on nutrition and health

The 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows long-term progress in reducing hunger in the world. The advances have been uneven, however, with millions of people still experiencing chronic hunger and many places suffering acute food crises and even famine. According to 2017 GHI scores, the level of hunger in the world has decreased by 27 percent from the 2000 level. Of the 119 countries assessed in this year’s report, one falls in the extremely alarming range on the GHI Severity Scale; 7 fall in the alarming range; 44 in the serious range; and 24 in the moderate range. Only 43 countries have scores in the low range. In addition, 9 of the 13 countries that lack sufficient data for calculating 2017 GHI scores still raise significant concern, including Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria. To capture the multidimensional nature of hunger, GHI scores are based on four component indicators—undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality. The 27 percent improvement noted above reflects progress in each of these indicators according to the latest data from 2012–2016 for countries in the GHI.

India is home to the world's largest hungry population and has a long way to go before it is anywhere near the mammoth task of achieving the United Nations' goal of ending hunger in 2030. It is ironic that this book raises the issue of "Hunger" in a state where it is least expected. Punjab is a state with mountains of food grains and overflowing godowns, with highest yields, and largest area under irrigation. Not only that, it is the Green Revolution state of India, that has played the most prominent role in helping India achieve its goal of food self-sufficiency. By investigating the hydra-headed concept of food security in Indian Punjab, this book brings to fore the different dimensions of the deprivation of human capabilities and the intricate relationship between food security and economy, ecology, and state policy. Moreover, it is a wakeup call for India; for if, this is the state of affairs in one of the more prosperous primarily agrarian states, what would be the situation in the poorer ones? The primary objective is to divert urgent attention to the issue of food security, as an important ingredient of human resource development. With a strong commitment to achieving the primary goal of human resource development, India's biggest burden could well become India's greatest asset in the path to inclusive development.

The 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI) presents a multidimensional measure of national, regional, and global hunger, focusing on how the world can get to Zero Hunger by 2030. The developing world has made substantial progress in reducing hunger since 2000. The 2016 GHI shows that the level of hunger in developing countries as a group has fallen by 29 percent. Yet this progress has been uneven, and great disparities in hunger continue to exist at the regional, national, and subnational levels. Levels of hunger are still serious or alarming in 50 countries. The highest hunger levels are still found in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia. Although GHI scores for these two regions have declined over time, the current levels remain close to the alarming category. Africa south of the Sahara has achieved the largest absolute improvement since 2000 and South Asia has also seen a sizable reduction—but the decline in hunger must accelerate in these regions if the world is to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. The 2016 report, with an essay from United Nations Special Adviser David Nabarro, hails the new paradigm of international development proposed in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which envisages Zero Hunger by 2030, as one goal among 17, in a holistic, integrated, and transformative plan for the world. To get to Zero Hunger while leaving no one behind, the 2016 GHI highlights the importance of identifying the regions, countries, and populations that are most vulnerable to hunger and undernutrition so progress can be accelerated there.

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 global food system lies at the heart of these commitments—and we will only be able to meet the new goals if we work to transform our food system to be more inclusive, climate-smart, sustainable, efficient, nutrition- and health-driven, and business-friendly.

As productivity expands to cater for population increase and shifting diets, many individuals remain hungry, whilst others suffer obesity, and significant amounts of food are wasted. Yet, this triple dilemma oversimplifies the underlying complexity. This book explores this complexity from an economics perspective, looking at the processes involved and the institutional structures that direct and constrain their interaction. After discussing alternative approaches to measuring hunger and food insecurity, this volume considers the four dimensions of food security: availability, affordability, utilization and stability. In summarising the main debates, issues and policy interventions, Russell discusses the problems of ensuring sufficient food in the face of ever-slowing growth in productivity and constraints on land and water. The problems of food affordability, the need for safety nets, and the need for poverty alleviation measures that reach excluded and disadvantaged groups is also discussed. This is alongside an exploration of issues related to food utilization and the problems of hidden hunger, obesity, food waste, and the interventions needed to relieve these problems. This volume is of great interest to those who study rural development, ecological economics and development economics, as well as policy makers who seek a better understanding of underlying processes, ongoing and emerging issues, and potentially relevant interventions.

As the world approaches the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include a goal of reducing the proportion of hungry people by half, the 2010 Global Hunger Index (GHI) offers a useful multidimensional overview of global hunger. The 2010 GHI is the fifth in an annual series that records the state of global, regional, and national hunger. The 2010 GHI shows some improvement over the 1990 GHI, falling by almost one-quarter, but overall the index for hunger in the world remains at a level characterized as serious. The GHI captures three dimensions of hunger: insufficient availability of calories, shortfalls in the nutritional status of children, and child mortality. Accordingly, the Index includes the following three equally weighted indicators: the proportion of people who are undernourished, as estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the prevalence of underweight in children under the age of five, as compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO); and the under-five mortality rate, as reported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The 2010 Index reflects data from 2003 to 2008, the most recent global data available on the three GHI components.