UK lags behind Europe in hunger scorecard

ActionAid UK

UK lags behind Europe in hunger scorecard on World Food Day

The UK is lagging behind other European countries in taking action to prevent a billion people going hungry, according to a new report from ActionAid released on World Food Day.

The UK scores 32 points out of 100 in a comprehensive scorecard which ranks 51 rich and poor countries on their efforts to prevent hunger and tackle the food crisis. Unlike other hunger indices, which only assess levels of hunger, the report Who’s Really Fighting Hunger? focuses instead on government actions and commitments.

The findings show that some of the poorest countries in the world have made striking progress towards reducing hunger, while some wealthier countries are failing in their responsibility to end global hunger.

The UK, which comes 8th out of 22 developed countries, has overlooked the role of smallholder, subsistence and women farmers in increasing food production, and puts too much faith in unaccountable bodies like the World Bank. On top of that the UK invests only $250 million a year in agriculture in the developing world – a tiny proportion of what ActionAid estimates is its fair share of $2 billion annually.

Meredith Alexander, Head of ActionAid’s HungerFree team said: “The UK comes in the middle of a very weak pack - Luxemburg, Finland and Ireland all do better than us. Overall, what this report shows is the world is failing the poor, who are going hungry in ever increasing numbers. One sixth of humanity does not have enough to eat and shockingly a child dies from hunger every 10 seconds. The difference in average intake between rich countries and poor countries is now roughly the same as an extra three Big Macs per person per day.”

World leaders have an ideal chance to take action on hunger at a UN World Food Summit in Rome in November, when a new plan to beat hunger will be put in place. However Prime Minister Gordon Brown is unlikely to attend despite his repeated promises to act to end the food crisis.

Meredith Alexander said: “This is a moment of change and the Prime Minister must go to the World Food summit to make that change actually happen. The size of the crisis is unprecedented, but there is now the real possibility of ending hunger forever.

“We know what is needed - more investment that is actually spent helping poor farmers feed themselves. Proven, sustainable solutions are ready to be implemented now. All we need are the funds and the political will to make it happen.”

ActionAid supports the UN call to world leaders to invest an additional $30 billion a year in agriculture in developing countries to help small-scale farmers who currently cannot grow enough to feed themselves and their families.

For the full report click here: Who’s Really Fighting Hunger?

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Notes

1. Luxembourg tops the developed country scorecard, with the US and New Zealand at the bottom.

2. Brazil tops the developing country scorecard, with Burundi and the DRC at the bottom.

3. Case studies and photos are available as well as video footage showing how hunger is affecting people in Kenya and how an ActionAid project in Malawi has turned the problem of food around for women smallholder farmers.

4. ActionAid supporters and staff will take the scorecard report to 10 Downing Street on Friday as well as handing it in to 16 African and Asian embassies in London. This can be followed live here: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/hungerfreelive

5. To mark World Food Day and launch its HungerFree campaign in the UK, ActionAid has commissioned the photographer Gavin Evans to create an iconic image capturing the horrific truth of a world in which one billion people are going hungry. The image shows a woman holding a bowl, apparently filled with food. On closer inspection, the bowl actually contains hundreds of handcuffs, reflecting the fact that hunger is imprisoning the world’s poor. See: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/102133/photographer_gavin_evans_makes_iconic_image_for_actionaid_and_world_food_day.html