ABSTRACT
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2015 State of Food and Agriculture review reported that in excess of 795 million people are undernourished globally. While this figure has declined in recent years, it masks some very real food security challenges. The decline in undernourishment can be attributed to economic development in certain developing countries, particularly China. Despite this decline, the related, but separate, issues of hunger, malnutrition and undernutrition remain a persistent challenge globally. The 2015 FAO report offered a number of caveats to the successes enabled through economic development, stating that although economic growth is a key success factor for reducing undernourishment, it has to be inclusive and provide opportunities for improving the livelihoods of the poor (FAO 2015a). This point highlights the fact that global inequalities mean that food insecurity is disproportionately experienced. Food insecurity manifests most severely in specific geographies. Despite positive shifts in the state of food security at a global scale, in a regional FAO report, it was stated that, ‘the total number of undernourished people [in sub-Saharan Africa] continues to increase, with an estimated 220 million in 2014-16 compared to 175.7 million in 1990-92’ (FAO 2015b: 1). Food security is emerging as a key development challenge for Africa. Several considerations cause limited and inappropriate food access, including, but certainly not limited to, the ability to buy food, itself often a symptom of limited or irregular income. Limited, erratic or inappropriate food access and utilization results in reduced nutrition, poor health and other related consequences. These consequences manifest in public health costs, educational challenges and at times, social challenges.
