Global hunger is decreasing, but not fast enough

ONE in eight people went hungry in 2012, or 870m, according to a study by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (defined as a diet of fewer than 1,800 calories a day). Children are especially affected as hunger harms physical and cognitive development. The Global Hunger Index, devised by the International Food Policy Research Institute, a think-tank based in Washington, DC, tracks the progress in combating hunger and undernourishment, which includes the quality as well as the quantity of a diet. The index covers 120 developing countries that account for 84% of the world’s population. It is composed of three equally weighted measures: the percentage of people that are undernourished; the under-five population that are underweight; and the under-five mortality rate. While the overall world index has decreased by 34% since 1990, some 19 countries—with a total population of 1.6 billion—are classified as having "alarming" or "extremely alarming" levels of hunger. Most are in Africa and Asia, where natural disasters and climate change make places there particularly vulnerable to food scarcity.