Morning Briefing

"Calculating the number of hungry people around the world at any given moment, let alone predicting how that number is likely to change in the future, is no easy task," Reuters reports in an article examining the numerous challenges of estimating the number of undernourished people worldwide and noting the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is expected to release new data and methodology in October "as part of [its] annual report on food insecurity." According to the news service, "The question is not whether metrics are necessary, but how to collect, interpret and share the data to present a realistic and accurate picture of the food security situation." While "[i]mproving the way hunger is calculated could have far-reaching consequences for the way governments and aid agencies respond more effectively to hunger crises, experts say," "[u]ltimately ... it is not data, but action, that makes a difference," according to Reuters (Rowling, 5/2).