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Food Access & Availability

Making Food Accessible to the Poor is Key to Fighting World Hunger

Posted October 13, 2004

Food is distributed in a refugee camp in Chad. 2004 © WFP/Nancy Palus

Malnutrition is the world’s leading health problem, claiming 25,000 lives a day and 10 million a year. Though enough food exists in the world today to feed the global population, the poorest people in the developing world are still going hungry primarily because they do not have access to the food the world produces. To meet Goal 1 of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to halve the world’s hungry population by 2015, food supplies must be made more available—and accessible—to the poor in the developing world.

This Cross-Topic Special focuses on how the world’s food resources are made available to the hunger. Availability can mean the use of sustainable agricultural resources and effective food production, while access suggests a wide range of factors from enabling food distribution channels such as food rationing systems to agricultural and trade policies. This Cross-Topic Special looks at the diverse range of issues that influence food access and availability in the developing world. It coincides with World Food Day on October 16.

Food Security
	Winners of the 2004 World Food Prize come from China and Sierra Leone.More

Non-Governmental Organizations
	From support for World Food Day to opposition to FAO policies on genetic engineering, global NGOs address a range of food issues. More

Indigenous Issues
	Mexico’s indigenous corn: Where hunger, traditional culture, trade, and technology collide. More

Gender and Development
	In poor households, documents show that the incidence of severe malnutrition is greater among girls. More

Poverty
	World Food Program's “19 Cents a Day Campaign” helps fight hunger worldwide.More

Trade and Development
	Agricultural trade liberalization and access to food More

Culture and Development
	Bartering for food: The connection between culture, famine and poverty.More

HIV/AIDS
	Access to nourishing food is critical for people living with HIV/AIDS.More

Information & Communication Technologies for Development
	AGORA seeks to provide free or low-cost online access to agricultural journals.More

Knowledge Economy
	Reducing hunger and accelerating economic development through agricultural knowledge, science and technology.More

Urban Development
	How urban agriculture contributes to food security.More

Iraq: Relief & Recovery
	Remnants of UN Oil-for-Food Program and ongoing military conflict contribute to fragile Iraq food security.More

Afghanistan Reconstruction
	Afghanistan is plagued with food shortages as thousands of refugees return.More

Water Resources Management
	Global food production depends on the availability of water.More

Environmental Law
	Tension between population and decreasing arable land urges shift towards sustainable agriculture in China. More

Youth for Development
	Access to food is a daily struggle for many young people. More

Uganda Country Gateway
	Read about the spread of Uganda's first season cereal harvesting. More

Bangladesh Country Gateway
	Hunger accompanied monsoon flooding last summer that deluged two-thirds of Bangladesh. More

China Country Gateway
	News about China’s efforts to combat malnutrition and rural poverty. More

DG Expert Perspective:
Trade and Food Security: What impact can NGOs and civil society have?

Michel Petit

Michel Petit served as Program Adviser at the Ford Foundation in New Delhi, India and as the World Bank Director for the Agriculture Research & Extension Group. A member of the Académie d'Agriculture in France, Dr. Petit is currently a Professor at the Institut National Agronomique in Paris. More

Partners

		World Food Program United Against Hunger Campaign

		Resource Center for Urban Agriculture and Forestry

		International Food Policy Research Institute

		U.S National Committee for World Food Day

		Feeding Minds/Fighting Hunger

		UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): Special Programme for Food Security and WAICENT

		UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security

		World Food Summit- International Alliance Against Hunger

		Earth Institute