Columnists

Go beyond national figures to reach the most vulnerable

hunger

If we want to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030, we need to focus on reaching those who are most exposed to hunger’s causes and consequences. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Around four per cent of Kenyan children under five suffer acute malnutrition: more than 50 percent less than in 1994. In Guatemala, the figures of stunted kids are still notably high (around 46.5 percent) but is also 10 percentage points lower than it was 25 years ago.

This progress can, however, mask troubling realities. In the drought-hit areas of Kenya, wasting figures climb up to 30 out of every 100 under-fives. Likewise, among Guatemalan indigenous peoples, the percentage of stunted kids (whose weight is too low for their age) is 12 per cent higher than the national average.

The above are just two examples of how sometimes policies fighting hunger and malnutrition —even those who actually deliver some results— fail to reach certain groups, communities or territories.

This short of numbers and contradictions should force us to rethink our development strategies in order to meet the needs of those who are being left behind.

In the first place, it is essential to identify just who and where those at risk of being left behind are. Sometimes it is an issue of specific groups, such as indigenous peoples, who often face dispossession and marginalisation. In the case of indigenous women, data show that the burden of discrimination is triple: for being poor, for being women and for being indigenous. In other cases, entire territories are falling behind due to their particular geographical or climatic conditions: either they are far away from the capitals, difficult to access or suffering the impact of climate change.

That is the case of dozens of areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, such as the Dry Corridor in Central America, which have been identified by the 100 Territories Free of Hunger initiative. Through it, parliamentarians from the region intend to adopt specific approaches to address the issues of the people living in these places.

Secondly, we need to understand the reasons why government and development partners’ efforts may fail to have an impact on certain groups or places and find a way to fill the gaps.

It could be that it is not even possible to identify the most vulnerable due to lack of capacity to even gather or interpret data, or that incentives for governments to look after the affected groups are not enough, due to their low political influence or geographical isolation. Insufficient human or financial resources for the required interventions may also often be an explanation.

Or even that such interventions are not properly designed and plans to end hunger, for example, focus too much on producing more food without ensuring that everyone has access to it.

And last, but not least, we need to get down to remedy these situations, which demands everybody’s commitment and as well as partnerships among different actors.

If we want to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030, we need to focus on reaching those who are most exposed to hunger’s causes and consequences.

Doing otherwise would make a big paradox. So let us go beyond the national figures and averages to improve our ability to discover those forgotten groups or territories and intensify our efforts to reach those with the biggest needs. So that we truly left no one behind.