Bringing together data from over 300 analysts and dozens of trusted partners – including government-validated statistics, hunger classification indices from the IPC, agricultural and economic data – the map provides the most complete and up-to-date picture of hunger facing the world’s most vulnerable people.
“It allows you, journalists, but also policy-makers, students, to have your finger on the pulse of global food insecurity.” wfpJean-Martin Bauer, director of food security and nutrition analysis, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
The release of the platform comes at a critical time with limited funding for humanitarian action and according to the internationally recognized hunger index, the IPC, the number of people facing the most severe form of hunger is set to increase 15-fold from 85,000 in 2019 to 1.4 million in 2025 – which issues warning of famine.
Cost saving potential
Through predictive modeling, the map answers three important questions: What is the current state of food security around the world? Which countries and regions require immediate attention? And what are the underlying factors contributing to food safety needs?
Studies have shown that early warning of emerging food safety issues can lead to tremendous cost savings and operational efficiencies. For every dollar invested in WFP’s anticipated action programs, a minimum of seven dollars is realized in savings.
“Without data, the fight against hunger is fought in the dark,” said Cindy McCain, Executive Director of WFP. “This platform changes that…We are able to detect and predict where, how and why hunger is increasing, which means we don’t just react to hunger – we grow from it.“
AI-assisted forecasting
The map offers AI-assisted forecasting capabilities to estimate food needs in WFP-designated hunger hotspots, 16 countries where populations already struggle with catastrophic hunger.
Another innovative feature is the inclusion of “micronutrient intake adequacy”, which Links food-security conditions to the nutritional quality of diets.
This nutrition analysis, developed with support from the Gates Foundation, helps identify populations at risk of hidden hunger due to inadequate intake of essential vitamins and minerals.
stop hunger in its tracks
There has been a worrying decline in funding for global food security monitoring and analysis, and WFP’s data footprint has shrunk by 25 percent in the past year.
“If you can’t see hunger coming you can’t stop it” Mr. Bauer said.
“It is therefore vital that we continue to fund the collection of this data, so that society has a reliable, evidence-based early warning system that can alert the world to emerging and dangerous situations and the risk of human suffering, before it is too late.”
