The World Food Summit held in Rome in 1996 committed FAO Member States to the 2015 goal of reducing food insecurity by half. It was followed by the World Food Summit: five years later, also held in Rome, in 2001. It is estimated that approximately 790 million people in developing countries - representing about 20 percent of their total population - and 34 million in developed countries, are chronically undernourished. To meet the target of halving malnutrition in developing countries by 2015, this number needs to be cut by at least 20 million per year, more than twice as fast as the current reduction of about eight million. With a growing world population, this situation may even worsen unless very determined and well-targeted actions are taken to improve food security. Food security is, and will likely remain for some time into the future, the outstanding public good obligation of all countries.
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