According to the latest World Bank estimate, more than 1.3 billion people live in poverty, despite tremendous progress made in the past two decades. The number of undernourished people has even increased since the mid-1990s. Today nearly 1 billion people suffer from hunger. And “hidden hunger,” as micronutrient deficiencies are called, affects the lives of more than 2 billion people. According to IFPRI’s 2011 Global Hunger Index, more than 50 countries had levels of hunger that were “serious,” “alarming,” or even “extremely alarming.” The main hotspots for hunger and poverty are Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (Figure 1, Figure 2). It is clear that a “business as unusual” approach—smarter, more innovative, better focused, and more cost-effective—is urgently needed. Most importantly, this approach must be driven by the countries themselves.
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By Shenggen Fan - Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST)
IUFoST Scientific Information Bulletin (SIB)
FOOD FRAUD PREVENTION