The well-fed have many problems, the hungry only one.

• Author: Bage, Lennart
• Position: Mission Statement

There is general agreement within the international community that we are not currently on track to reach the goal of the World Food Summit: to reduce by half the number of undernourished people in the world by the year 2015. In other words, the state of world food security and nutrition in 2001 is not what we had hoped it would be. From this, compelling questions follow, namely, what are we doing about the situation, and will we be able to do enough in time to meet the Summit goal?

Poverty hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition are closely linked. On a conceptual level, the interrelations can be complex; on a human level, the reality is startlingly simple. To paraphrase a traditional Chinese proverb: "Well-fed people have many problems, hungry people have only one."

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recognizes that food is a central concern and often a daily preoccupation of those the Fund works for: the rural poor. IFAD was created in 1977, with a clear mandate to prioritize "the need to increase food production and to improve the nutritional level of the poorest populations in food deficit countries". Operationalizing that mandate has been a work in progress, informed by what is now almost 25 years of practical experience.

By lending to Govemments to invest in the poorest and most food insecure areas, IFAD influences the flow of public resources. It draws the attention of policy makers to the links between food insecurity, productivity and equitable economic growth. It fosters recognition of the fact that food insecurity and malnutrition prevent the poor from participating in the mainstream of development. All too often, hunger is looked at in the abstract, without keeping in mind the imperative of thinking about individuals and households, who have not only specific needs but also many strengths. The key to successful and sustainable reduction in poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition lies in identifying constraints and building on strengths. It is important to acknowledge these individuals and households as the agents of change and not merely as passive objects whose problems will be solved by Governments and outside donors.

Three Rome-based United Nations agencies that focus on food-related issues--FAO, WFP and IFAD--recently collaborated to produce System-wide Guidance on Household Food Security and Nutrition, a document that underlined fundamental points of common understanding on household food security: "Although there have been a variety of definitions used in the last decade as the concept developed, there are no serious underlying contradictions. Households are considered food secure when they have...