Agriculture, food and water - FAO.org

30 CHAPTER 4 Ensuring access to food for all
hit by natural, man-made or individual disasters. Households weakened by hunger and disease
need to be restored to the necessary strength for being able to apply themselves to construction of
a viable livelihood. At this point, people may need punctual support to realize their plans. External
support may take a variety of forms, from provision of seeds and tools to capacity building and
infrastructure development. Many poverty alleviation activities bear some relation with water.
The role of irrigation is discussed further on.
The undernourished: where, who, and why?
Figure 8 and map 3 identify the countries with the highest prevalence of undernourished people.
Many of these countries have been stricken by war and natural disasters, including extended
periods of drought. Within the countries, large numbers of undernourished people live in
environmentally degraded rural areas and in urban slums. During the 1990s, the number of
undernourished people fell steeply in East Asia. In South Asia, although the proportion fell, the
total number remained almost constant. In sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion remained virtually
unchanged, which meant that the number of undernourished people rose steeply. Food security
action has therefore a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
Many undernourished people are refugees who have lost their physical and social assets in
displacement caused by war or natural disaster. The cause of displacement can also be unmitigated
externalities stemming, for example, from urban development and consequent water pollution, as
well as construction of dams and consequent flooding of the land. Some national macro-policies have
failed to recognize the importance of agriculture and have also contributed to the forces pushing
Figure 8 Proportion of undernourished people in developing countries, 1990–1992 and 1997–1999
%
Category 1: