ROME, March 13, 2013 -
A new, faster and more precise way of measuring hunger and food insecurity
across the world is soon to be field-tested by FAO in several pilot
countries.
The new approach
relies on gathering information on the extent and severity of hunger from
food-insecure people, through a carefully-designed annual survey to be
conducted in collaboration with polling specialists Gallup, Inc.
Starting this
month, the new approach – known as the Voices of the Hungry project – will be
finalized in collaboration with major experts in the field and tested on a
pilot basis in four countries - Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi and Niger. These
countries have agreed to move towards the complete eradication of hunger, in
line with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Zero Hunger challenge.
The plan is to
then extend the survey to more than 160 000 respondents in up to 150 countries
covered by the Gallup World Poll and to publish updated results on each country
every year. The project will run for five years and will lead to the
establishment of a new FAO-certified standard for food security monitoring that
could then be easily adopted by other household surveys.
"This
innovative method will be an essential tool for governments, civil society and
other national and international organizations in the fight against
hunger", says Jomo Sundaram, FAO Assistant Director-General for Economic
and Social Development.
"It will
also be key to increasing the accountability of governments and in
encouraging them to commit to hunger eradication".
Results of the
surveys will be available in days rather than years, allowing FAO to take an
almost real-time snapshot of a nation's food insecurity situation. This will be
the first occasion that FAO takes on responsibility for data collection. In
parallel, FAO will assist countries to include the scale in their ongoing
survey plans and programs to ensure future sustainability.
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