{
  "id": "R40127",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R40127",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
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      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 344225,
      "date": "2009-01-12",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T02:55:14.903196",
      "title": "The Impact of Food Insecurity and Hunger on Global Health: Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that world food prices spiked dramatically in the first half of 2008 and declined somewhat in the latter part of the year. From June 2007 to June 2008, FAO\u2019s food price index increased by 44%, with wheat and rice prices increasing by 90% and maize prices by 35%. The food spikes had negative social and economic impacts, especially in low income and least developed countries. Although food prices have stabilized somewhat, they remain higher than they have been over the past decade. In addition, those who were most affected by the food spikes remain vulnerable to future food crises because of persistent hunger and poverty.\nForecasts indicate that prices will remain higher than the averages of the past decade\u2014though they are projected to continuously ease over the next 10 years. Latest estimates indicate that at the end of 2007, there were 923 million under-nourished people worldwide, nearly 90% of whom were in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In 2007, high food prices prevented 75 million people from attaining sufficient quantities of food and forced 100 million into poverty. \nMany health experts are concerned about the short- and long-term impacts of fluctuating food prices and inconsistent food supplies. In the period immediately following food price hikes, poor families who are already struggling to feed themselves begin to decrease spending on health and education. Some analysts contend that impoverished families will be less likely to take a sick child to the clinic or a pregnant woman to the hospital, which could increase maternal and child mortality rates. Health experts expect poor parents to remove their children from school to spend their limited funds on more expensive food. High food prices might also threaten efforts to control HIV/AIDS. Women and girls, who are particularly vulnerable during times of food shortages because of their lower social and economic status, inability to inherit land (in some areas), and heightened nutritional needs during pregnancy or lactation, might engage in transactional sex to feed their families. Males might turn to migrant or long-distance transportation work. Relatively high HIV transmission rates among these groups are well-documented. Malnutrition usually occurs after families can find no other way to cut spending and decrease food intake. The choices people make as they struggle to absorb the shocks of rising food prices affect other social issues, including housing, migration, education, and health. Responses to higher food prices, consequently, require a comprehensive approach which addresses each of these areas.\nSince food prices have begun to rise, much of the discussions on how best to improve food security have focused on agriculture and its related issues. While many experts agree that increased investment in agriculture could help to address hunger and poverty, others urge policy makers to simultaneously bolster support for health interventions. Supporters of greater investment in basic health care assert that related programs are a relatively inexpensive way to effectively address hunger-related illnesses in the short- and long-terms. This report analyzes the direct and indirect effects of food insecurity and hunger on global health, reviews elements of the U.S. government response to global hunger, and identifies policy areas that Congress might examine as it debates how best to address the health needs of the millions threatened by high food prices in the 111th Congress.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
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  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs"
  ]
}