ReliefWeb

Evidence shows that almost one billion people globally suffer from food insecurity, and that around 171 million children under five years old suffer from stunted growth due to undernutrition. As the G8’s previous commitment to food security and nutrition expires this year, Concern Worldwide strongly believes that now is the time to take preventative and long-lasting action that can help to make undernutrition history.

From our experience of working in the world’s poorest countries, Concern recommends that G8 members support low-income countries to tackle food insecurity and undernutrition by taking a multi-pronged approach that includes:

■ Investment in smallholder farmers and support to alternative rural livelihoods

■ Establishment of hunger-sensitive safety nets and promotion of social protection systems

■ Scaling-up direct nutrition interventions and strengthening health systems

Specifically, this year at Camp David, Concern recommends five measures on food security and nutrition for G8 action.
As hosts of the 2012 and 2013 G8 summits, governments from the United States and United Kingdom have a particular responsibility in ensuring that the following recommendations are prioritized, and that G8 efforts across the two years are coordinated and complementary.