Challenges Facing Current Policies: The Case of Extreme Hunger

1. Challenges Facing Current Policies: The Case of Extreme Hunger IMI Workshop What are the Innovation Challenges for Rural Development Casa San Bernardo, Rome Eliud Wakwabubi, Participatory Methodologies Forum of Kenya (PAMFORK) IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

2. Nature of Hunger Households Policy challenge Introduction Those suffering from extreme hunger do not have any form of power 4 categories of households consuming less 1800 Kcal per day. A & B suffer from moderate and C & D from extreme hunger Category D households not reached by hunger reduction interventions. Difficult to achieve MDG 1 IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

3. Nature of Hunger • Hunger is an indicator of poverty • The poor have lost confidence in public institutions in their ability to eradicate hunger • The poor continue living with the hunger trap • Is there a cause of hunger that is not a cause of poverty or is there a cause of poverty that is not a cause of hunger? What is the implication of this on MDG 1 IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

4. Nature of Hunger • However, the deeper cause is the powerlessness of the poor and their subsequent exclusion from the development process • The poor are not able make and transform choices into desired actions and outcomes for hunger reduction • Development policies (SAPs, PRSPs, MDGs etc.) have failed to address the impact of power relations on poverty reduction at both micro- and macro-levels • Addressing powerlessness, power imbalances and structures is the best way of eradicating extreme hunger IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

5. Nature of Hunger Cont’d During our work, one community member from West Pokot, an arid district in Kenya noted: “Hunger has always been here. I was born when hunger was there and I grew up with hunger. Hunger is there now and will always be there in future. There is nothing we can do about hunger now or in future. We shall forever live with it. It is only God who knows when we shall get rid of hunger. We have no control over it at all…we face all problems in the world apart from firewood” IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

6. Categories of Households • Households affected by hunger display heterogeneous characteristics • Information is not quantified and specific • Meaningful action to end hunger requires knowledge of not just the number of hungry households but also the depth of hunger in each household IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

7. Categories of Households IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

8. Categories of Households Income or Kcal/day/person Moderate hunger, 1800 Kcal A B Extreme hunger, 1400 Kcal C D Dependency ratio Low dep. Ratio “viable poor” capacitated High dep. Ratio “non viable” poor incapacitated IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

9. Reasons for Not Reaching Category D Households • Not able to attend meetings • Not members of community self-help groups • Do not contribute towards project activities • It is costly to reach them • Only require relief based interventions • The progressive farmer approach leaves them out • Limited programmes specifically targeting them IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

10. Reasons for Not Reaching Category D Households Cont’d • The mode of entering the community is usually through invitation by organized groups. They do not belong to these groups • Category D members do not trust development agencies. All other priorities come first, for instance salaries before addressing their priorities • Use of the terms vulnerable groups, poor, or marginalized groups leave out category D. These concepts are based on the fact that all households from the same location/group are homogenous • Discrimination based on tribe, religion, region/district IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

11. Policy Challenges • Lack of factual beneficiary data • Conclusion that category D households only require handouts and relief services • Lack of a rigorous PM&E system that can reflect the impact of hunger reduction activities. The poor ought to know resources invested in projects before being involved • Limited participation of category D members in hunger reduction projects IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

12. Making MDG 1 an Effective Policy Solution • MDG 1 cannot be achieved if category D households are not empowered socially and economically • Development agencies to change the perceptions of the hungry from outward to inward looking • Deliberately target category D households with hunger reduction programmes IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

13. Making MDG 1 an Effective Policy Solution Cont’d • Integrate recovery, rehabilitation and disaster preparedness with famine relief • Development of hunger reduction policies for category D • Accurate and timely hunger forecasting strategies • Involvement of communities through, for instance category D households rural finance user-owned groups that are sustainable IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

14. Making MDG 1 an Effective Policy Solution Cont’d • Monitor hunger reduction programmes from the beneficiaries’ perspective to gauge the satisfaction derived. For instance encourage communities to use songs, role plays/drama etc. to report on success and failure • Adopt participatory and contributory approach and build the capacity of the poor to hold power actors accountable • Identify category D households, consult them and jointly implement agreed/proposed hunger reduction activities. IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

15. Innovation Challenges • Government systems and bureaucracies are not good in adopting innovations. What risk does this pose? For instance, there are cases where project funds have been returned to the treasury because of the inability to use the funds • Rural finance for the poor is an innovation. Should development agencies mix it with other programmes such as agriculture, water, natural resource management, HIV/AIDS or should it stand alone? IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

16. Conclusion Frontier 1 A 1800 Kcal B Frontier 2 C 1400 Kcal D IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005

17. Conclusion Cont’d • Reducing hunger by 2015 remains a surmountable challenge • Category D households are rarely reached institutional interventions • A large percentage of the poor live in category D households • Development policies should therefore change the frontiers of the households, as well as strengthen those institutions that are already targeting well past the existing frontiers for purposes of penetrating deeper in to category D households. IMI Workshop, 15th-17th November 2005