Since 2015, over three million children die each year from malnutrition-related causes. Yet we know it doesn’t have to be this way. Between 1990 and 2015, the number of people suffering undernutrition in the world halved. The UK played an important role in directing Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to tackling poverty, hunger and its causes which helped achieve this result.
In recent years, the worsening impacts of conflict, climate change and inequality have reversed this progress. The UK government’s decision to reduce its ODA budget from 0.7% to 0.5% Gross National Income (GNI) and disband the Department for International Development has come at a disastrous time. In this paper, we set out Action Against Hunger’s proposal for the next government to reverse the alarming rise in global hunger. We outline the primary causes of hunger and explain how a joined-up UK ODA and foreign policy approach can help address them.
The UK has a significant opportunity to show leadership and turn the tide on rising hunger.