International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
At multiple global fora from the World Food Conference in 1974 to the Word Food Summit in 1996 and the Millennium Summit in 2000, leaders representing over 190 governments have repeatedly committed themselves to the vision of ending hunger in the world. Despite these commitments, these initiatives have still not garnered the necessary political leadership, broad-based constituency, governance mechanisms, and financial resources to achieve this vision. Hunger and food insecurity persist and present some significant governance challenges to meet the global goal for reducing the number of people affected by hunger in half by 2015. While clearly governments are principally responsible for achieving this goal and other supporting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), concerted action is required across sectors and among various actors to put in place the governance mechanisms, processes, institutions, rules, policies and normative structures to lead to sustained action and improved performance in eradicating hunger. Despite public pronouncements about the elements of "good governance," much still remains to be learned about getting governance right - that is, what is the proper and most effective mix of institutions, rules, policies, and actors (i.e., public sector, private sector, and civil society) to enhance food security at the global, regional, national, sub-national, and local levels? What types of reinforcing mechanisms are in place at each level for ensuring accountability, effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and responsive democratic governance?
What governance approaches will foster an enabling institutional and policy environment that encourages collective action, learning, and capacity-building that leads to positive nutritional and food-secure outcomes? What accountability mechanisms are needed to ensure that key institutions, policies and stakeholders effectively address food security? The challenge is how to create multi-level, multi-stakeholder approaches that enhance food security by targeting the nutritional needs of diverse vulnerable groups, empowering poor and disenfranchised people, and engaging them in participatory governance processes. New and innovative multi-level organizational arrangements (both horizontal and vertical) among government agencies, parliamentary assemblies, businesses, inter-governmental organizations, international NGOs, civil society groups (e.g., farmers, consumers, religious associations, unions), and other actors (e.g., media) offer promising possibilities for mobilizing effective collective action in addressing the nutritional needs of vulnerable people and for potentially eradicating hunger.