Summit Produced a Plan of Action to Achieve Goal

To reach their goal, summit participants approved an action plan that included 7 broadly stated commitments, 27 objectives, and 181 specific actions (see app. Although the summit action plan is not binding, countries also agreed to (1) review and revise as appropriate national plans, programs, and strategies with a view to achieving food security; (2) establish or improve national mechanisms to set priorities and develop and implement the components of the summit action plan within designated time frames, based on both national and local needs, and provide the necessary resources; and (3) cooperate regionally and internationally in order to reach collective solutions to global issues of food insecurity. They also agreed to monitor implementation of the summit plan, including periodically reporting on their individual progress in meeting the plan’s objectives. According to other observers, there is a growing acceptance on the part of developing countries that policy reform must be addressed if food security is to be achieved. Factors Affecting Summit Goal

Among factors that may affect whether the summit’s goal is realized are trade reforms, conflicts, agricultural production, and safety net programs and food aid. Need to Develop a Food Security Information System

Many countries participating in the summit acknowledged that they do not have adequate information on the status of their people’s food security. In addition, CFS has requested that the information provided allow for analysis of which actions are or are not successful in promoting summit goals. Furthermore, some countries chose to provide a report that was more descriptive than analytical, and some countries reported only on certain aspects of food security action, such as food stocks or reserve policies. A progress report on the remaining objectives will be made in 2002. USAID said that, although an unfortunate circumstance, it believes the level of effort by donor and developing countries will probably fall short of achieving the summit’s goal of reducing chronic global hunger by one-half. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

At the request of Senator Russell D. Feingold, Ranking Minority Member of the Subcommittee on African Affairs, Senator John Ashcroft, and Congressman Tony P. Hall, we reviewed the outcome of the 1996 World Food Summit and key factors that could affect progress toward achieving the summit’s goal. To address the current status of global food security, the summit’s approach to reducing food insecurity, and the summit’s possible contribution to reducing hunger and undernutrition, we did the following: reviewed documents and studies by the FAO, the U.N. Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the World Food Program; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research; IFPRI; USDA, USAID, the Department of State, and the Department of Health and Human Services; and various academics, NGOs, and private sector entities concerned with past and possible future efforts to reduce poverty and undernutrition; discussed issues concerning the extent and causes of undernutrition with national and international experts in food security, including experts at FAO, the World Food Program, the World Bank, IFPRI, USDA, USAID, the Department of State, various NGOs, and universities and international food companies; observed presummit negotiations over the text to be included in the World Food Summit’s policy declaration and plan of action, the World Food Summit, and subsequent FAO follow-up meetings to the summit (the latter include the April 1997 CFS meeting, the November 1997 FAO Conference meeting, and the June 1998 CFS meeting; attended various other conferences and seminars where food security and related issues were discussed; and developed a database on country-level estimates of undernutrition and various economic, political, and social variables possibly associated with food insecurity. These issues concern the ability and willingness of countries to reasonably measure the prevalence of undernourishment and the possible effects of trade liberalization, grain reserves, food aid, conflict, increased agricultural production, policy reforms, resources, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation of progress in reducing food insecurity.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the outcome of the 1996 World Food Summit, focusing on factors that could affect progress toward meeting world food security goals.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the 1996 World Food Summit brought together officials from 185 countries and the European Community to discuss the problem of food insecurity and produced a plan to guide participants' efforts in working toward a common goal of reducing undernutrition; (2) to reach this goal, they approved an action plan, the focus of which is to assist developing countries to become more self-reliant in meeting their food needs by promoting broad-based economic, political, and social reforms at local, national, regional, and international levels; (3) the participants endorsed various actions but did not enter into any binding commitments; (4) they also agreed to review and revise national plans, programs, and strategies, where appropriate, so as to achieve food security consistent with the summit action plan; (5) according to U.S. officials, a willingness on the part of food-insecure countries to undertake broad-based policy reforms is a key factor affecting whether such countries will achieve the summit goal; (6) other important factors that could affect progress toward achieving the summit goal are: (a) the effects of trade reform; (b) the prevalence of conflict and its effect on food security; (c) the sufficiency of agricultural production; and (d) the availability of food aid and financial resources; (7) also needed are actions to monitor progress, such as the ability and willingness of the participant countries to develop information systems on the status of food security and to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate progress in implementing the summit's plan; (8) given the complexity of the problems in each of these areas, participants acknowledged that progress will be difficult; (9) the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Committee on World Food Security requested that countries report to the FAO Secretariat on their progress in meeting the summit's goal in 1998, but many countries did not respond in a timely fashion; (10) in addition, some reports were more descriptive than analytical, and some reported only on certain aspects of food security actions; (11) thus, the Secretariat was unable to draw general substantive conclusions on progress made to reduce food insecurity; and (12) the Agency for International Development said that the level of effort by both donor and developing countries will probably fall short of achieving the summit's goal of reducing chronic global hunger by one-half.