In 2009, high and volatile food prices combined with economic recession posed significant risks to poor and vulnerable households, with often dire consequences for their food security.

"With high food prices threatening the food security of millions of vulnerable households around the world, hunger and malnutrition are back in the headlines.

"Indices can be powerful tools for international monitoring and advocacy, and if used in international rankings, can help foster a sense of healthy competition among countries.

Practitioners may ask why they should address gender issues in development.

In this brief, the authors suggest five areas for action to put rural India on a higher growth trajectory that would cut hunger, malnutrition, and unemployment at a much faster pace than has been the case so far.

"Policies built on presumptions of separateness or on traditional notions of urban and rural livelihoods diminish the possibilities for economic growth and poverty reduction.

While famines and other episodes of severe hunger receive significant press coverage and attract much public attention, chronic hunger and malnutrition are considerably more prevalent in Africa.

"In Africa and elsewhere, safety nets were promoted in the 1980s as a response to the (presumably short-term) adverse effects of structural adjustment.

What can be done to increase the effective participation of women in food and nutrition security in Africa? This brief advocates a two-pronged approach.

"The interactions between HIV/AIDS and food and nutrition insecurity are becoming clearer as research fills knowledge gaps.

In more than a dozen African countries the rate of undernourishment is more than 40 percent, exceeding 50 percent in those countries experiencing or emerging from armed conflict.

For many of the world’s poor, public safety-net programs are the only hope for a life free from chronic poverty and undernutrition. But the proper combination of incentives and support can be difficult to achieve.

For many of the world’s poor, public safety-net programs are the only hope for a life free from chronic poverty and undernutrition. But the proper combination of incentives and support can be difficult to achieve.

Data from many countries show that the concentration of poverty and malnutrition is shifting from rural to urban areas.

El papel de la mujer en la economía se ha subestimado con frecuencia y su trabajo en la agricultura ha sido invisible por mucho tiempo.

This brief examines the key roles that women play in ensuring food security and makes three recommendations of ways to strengthen the food security through policies and programs that enhance women's abilities and resources to fulfill their ro

Le présent rapport de politique alimentaire présente la synthèse de la recherche actuelle sur les fonctions que les femmes remplissent pour garantir la sécurité alimentaire dans le monde en développement.