Hidden hunger

Is it possible to have food on your plate, but still go hungry? Yes, is the answer, according to the latest Global Hunger Index, compiled by German World Hunger Aid together with the Irish aid and development organization Concern Worldwide and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

"Eight hundred million suffer from not having enough to eat, so it is quantity, it is calories," said Shenggen Fan, general director of IFPRI. "But 2 billion people suffer from lack of micronutrients."

World map of hunger

"The question is the timing, how soon the people will die. So lack of food, particularly lack of calories, can lead to death very quickly," Fan said. "But the lack of micronutrients is equally damaging."

Alongside the new Global Hunger Index, the group's also released a world map showing where people are particularly affected by hunger and where action is most needed. There are, however, some exceptions for countries such as Congo, South Sudan and Somalia, where the lack of access to figures makes it difficult to gage the situation.

Worldwide data

Experts from IFPRI compiled data from various UN organizations and from individual countries and regions. Their three main indicators for hidden hunger were malnutrition in the general population, underweight children and child mortality.

When evaluating the data, experts compared figures with statistics from 1990. "Although generally there has been a positive development, the overall quality of food has been neglected in recent years," said Wolfgang Jamann, secretary general of Welthungerhilfe, a German organization for development and humanitarian aid.

Not just more, but better food

For Welthungerhilfe, the data collection helps with strategy planning for individual work and policy recommendations.

The conclusions are clear, Jamann told DW.

"It doesn't just come down to increasing productivity, but also increasing nutrition," he said. "This means diverse crop cultivation, particularly in the cultivation of vegetables and small animals."

Support for smallholder farmers

Projects by German and Irish organizations are already showing how healthy nutrition can be achieved in practice.

"It is extremely important to us that we address three aspects together," said Jamann. "The improvement of agriculture, improving eating habits and also the careful use of natural resources."

There are also a number of ways to artificially enrich foods, "from soil enrichment and seed modification, right up to giving young children vitamin A or vitamin powder," said Jamann.

If the methods can stand the test of time, Jamann said he does not oppose adding additional enrichment to food or so-called "green genetic engineering." However, many technological solutions are not an option for most smallholder farmers.

"The majority of producers, but also the majority of hungry people today are smallholder farmers," Jamann said. "Therefore, other solutions that can be adapted to local conditions and that don't overuse natural resources have to be found."

More help for the poorest countries

Above all, rural development in the poorest countries needs support, he said. Jamann was critical of a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on development cooperation. OECD countries are, admittedly, planning higher expenditure in the development sector.

"We've great concerns about that because of a tendency there to support the so called 'good performers' - emerging countries or societies with a good economy," said Jamann.

"These would be the countries, for example, in which private investments are possible. And then the poorest countries, which are often are fragile countries, are robbed of humanitarian aid."