For World Food Day, 16 October 2008, the Challenge of Hunger 2008 report was presented in Berlin, Washington, Dublin and Delhi. It contains the current Global Hunger Index (GHI) rankings for 120 countries, and is published for the third year in a row by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C., the Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe (formerly known as German Agro Action).
 
According to the 2008 Index, 33 countries currently fall in the category of an “alarming” or “extremely alarming” hunger situation which demands immediate action. The Democratic Republic of Congo scored the worst on the Index, followed by Eritrea, Burundi, Niger, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ethiopia.
 
The Global Hunger Index provides information on successes and failures in the global fight against hunger. It is based on three indicators: the proportion of undernourished people, the prevalence of underweight in children under the age of five and the underfive child mortality rate.
 
“The world has made only slow progress in reducing hunger in past decades, with dramatic differences among countries and regions,” said Joachim von Braun, IFPRI director general. “The current financial crisis complicates the picture: it actually brings some short-term relief for hungry people, as it contributes to reduced commodity prices, but the credit crunch makes access to capital difficult, including for agriculture, and that adds another obstacle for overcoming the food crisis.”
 
The report can be downloaded at www.welthungerhilfe.de or www.ifpri.org.