Undernourishment is an important challenge

In virtually all countries with available data, if we divided the total amount of available calories by the number of people, we would be able reach the threshold of 2,000 kilocalories per person per day.

In virtually all countries with available data, if we divided the total amount of available calories by the number of people, we would be able reach the threshold of 2,000 kilocalories per person per day.

In fact, in every country in the world the total amount of available calories from crops (before animal feed and including imports and exports) is enough to reach the average threshold of 2,000 kilocalories per day. In some countries almost ten times over! You can read more about food supply here.

In fact, in every country in the world the total amount of available calories from crops (before animal feed and including imports and exports) is enough to reach the average threshold of 2,000 kilocalories per day. In some countries almost ten times over! You can read more about food supply here.

Abundant food supply is not enough to guarantee that people will have access to food. But famines, where people starve due to lack of available food, are also much less common today. Food scarcity is certainly a problem in specific contexts. But malnutrition is much more than lack of aggregate supply. You can read more about famines here.

Abundant food supply is not enough to guarantee that people will have access to food. But famines, where people starve due to lack of available food, are also much less common today. Food scarcity is certainly a problem in specific contexts. But malnutrition is much more than lack of aggregate supply. You can read more about famines here.

Outline

• Undernourishment is an important challenge
• Undernourishment has important consequences
• Undernourishment is not the result of a world without enough food
• Permanently ending hunger requires more than a one-off push in incomes
• Malnutrition is not only about calories
• What does this mean in terms of policy?