National News

UN lauds Malawi for hunger reduction

United Nations (UN) has said Malawi has reached the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) hunger target, thanks to a strong and persistent commitment to boost maize production.

In a report on the State of Food Insecurity in the World (Sofi 2014) released on Tuesday, UN says although the country has made such strides, malnutrition remains a challenge as 50 percent of children under five are stunted and 12.8 percent are underweight.

Malawi has banned maize exports
Malawi has banned maize exports

“To address the issue, the government is promoting community-based nutrition interventions to diversify production to include legumes, milk, fisheries and aquaculture for healthier diets and to improve income at the household level,” reads the report.

The report says world hunger has fallen by more than 100 million people over the last decade and by more than 200 million people since 1990-92, but 805 million people in the world, or one in nine, are still chronically undernourished.

However, although such is the case, the overall trend in hunger reduction in developing countries means that the MDG of halving the proportion of undernourished people by 2015 is within reach “if appropriate and immediate efforts are stepped up”.

The Sofi report is published annually by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The findings will be discussed at the October 13-18 meeting of the Committee on World Food Security at FAO headquarters in Rome.

Related Articles

Back to top button