The Global Hunger Index for 2009 has just been released with a very cool interactive map (see above). ((Only drawback: it allows you to drop the pin in the ocean and other places where there are no data.)) There’s a general release from our friends at IFPRI and one focused on sub-Saharan Africa.
Coincidentally, or not, this just in: ((Well, well, well. The original story we linked to has disappeared, to be replaced by a less-than-informative error page. And looking at the new link, it is easy to see why. iAfrica.com broke the embargo, which specifies “NOT FOR PUBLICATION/BROADCASTING BEFORE 04H00 ON 15 OCTOBER 2009”. Doesn’t specify the time zone, mind. Anyway, we have no compunction about leaving our story up, given that we were originally quoting iAfrica.com. They broke the embargo, not us. So there.))
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Thursday will urge governments, donors, researchers, farmer groups, environmentalists, and others to set aside old divisions and join forces to help millions of the world’s poorest farming families boost their yields and incomes so they can lift themselves out of hunger and poverty.
Gates will say the effort must be guided by the farmers themselves, adapted to local circumstances, and sustainable for the economy and the environment.
The occasion for both news items is the award, tomorrow, of the World Food Prize to Dr Gebisa Ejeta.