2010 Global Hunger Index report: Levels of hunger in some African countries "extremely alarming"

Malnutrition among children under two years of age is one of the leading challenges to reducing global hunger, and can cause lifelong damage to mental and physical development, productivity, and earning potential, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report has revealed.

The report published annually by Concern Worldwide, the international humanitarian agency; the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); and German aid group Welthungerhilfe, is released to coincide with the World Food Day, being marked internationally on 16th October.

The annual Index scores and ranks levels of hunger across 122 countries on a 100-point scale—with zero being the best score—based on three indicators: the proportion of people who are undernourished, the proportion of children under five who are underweight, and the child mortality rate. 

Since 1990, Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Nicaragua, and Vietnam have all seen positive progress in terms of their ranking by the GHI. However, this year's report also finds that 29 countries, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, have levels of hunger that are "extremely alarming" or "alarming."

With a special focus on malnutrition among children, the 2010 index shines a light on the window of opportunity for improving nutrition for pregnant women and from the time a child is born through age two. "Ensuring appropriate and adequate nutrition during the first 1,000 days of development is absolutely critical. Proper nutrition until a child reaches the age of two is vital to growth and development. Damage done before the age of two from under-nutrition is largely irreversible," said Concern Worldwide CEO, Tom Arnold.

The Global Hunger Index echoes the message delivered by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Martin at a major event held during the September UN Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York. "1,000 Days: Change a Life, Change the Future" is a joint initiative—formally launched on 21st September 2010—of the Irish and US governments to urge greater accountability, attention and leadership on under-nutrition. 

"This report is a further contribution to our understanding of the challenges and the solutions to the scandal of world hunger. It articulates clear recommendations to inform and encourage the international community to take decisive action and hold themselves accountable. Our hope is that those recommendations will now be acted upon. Those suffering hunger on a daily basis deserve no less," said Arnold, an internationally recognized expert in food security.

There are 4,235,059 foreign residents in Italy, representing 7% of the national population, a report by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) has revealed.

Last year, the number of foreign residents increased by 343,764 (8,8%), slightly lower than the previous two years (494,000 in 2007 and 459,000 in 2008).

Minor foreign children in Italy are 932,675, representing 22,0% of the total population of foreign residents in the country. Of these, 573,000 were born in Italy while the rest came to join their family members here.

Almost three million of the foreign residents in the country are from Eastern European countries, mainly new EU Member States.

According to the figures from Istat, more than 60% of foreign residents live in northern part of Italy, 25,3% in the central part of the country and the remaining 13,1% in the southern part.

Lloyds criticised by unions for announcing plans to axe 4,500 jobs

Another huge jobs cull by banking giant Lloyds has cast a cloud over a fall in the UK's unemployment total, dealing a "devastating blow" to finance workers.

The part-nationalised bank was criticised by unions for announcing plans to axe 4,500 jobs, taking the total number of losses to 20,000 since the start of last year.

The news came just hours after official figures showed a 20,000 fall in unemployment to 2.45 million, the lowest so far this year.

But long-term unemployment rose to its highest in 13 years, and the numbers claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased by 5,300 in September to 1.47 million, the second consecutive monthly rise, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Vicky Redwood, senior economist at Capital Economics, said the figures provide further evidence that the labour market recovery is faltering, even before public sector job cuts began, while Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said he expects a deteriorating trend to emerge.

Union leaders said the figures are the "calm before the storm" of next week's comprehensive spending review, following a grim warning from accountancy giant PwC that almost 500,000 jobs could be lost in the private sector because of the Government's spending cuts, pushing the total number of possible losses to a million.

Despite the fall in unemployment, the number of jobless women increased by 36,000 over the quarter to August to just over a million, while the number of vacancies across the economy was 30,000 down in the three months to September to 459,000.

The number of people out of work for over a year was 821,000 in the quarter to August, up by 27,000 from the previous three months, reaching the highest total since early 1997, while jobless 18 to 24-year-olds increased by 35,000 to 742,000, the worst for a year.

The number of workers in part-time jobs reached a record high of almost eight million, while self-employment also grew to a new record of almost four million.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "Another rise in employment is a step in the right direction but clearly our priority is to get the economy motoring again, reduce the deficit and make the UK an attractive place for investment to encourage growth."

By The Press Association

Numbers claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased by 5,300 in September to 1.47 million

Unemployment has fallen by 20,000, but the number of people out of work for longer than a year has risen to its highest total in 13 years, new figures have shown.

The numbers claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased by 5,300 in September to 1.47 million, the second consecutive monthly rise, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Total unemployment, including those not eligible for benefit, fell to 2.45 million in the three months to August, the lowest so far this year.

This was almost entirely due to 16 and 17-year-olds finding work, training or education.

Female unemployment increased by 36,000 over the latest quarter to just over a million, while the number of vacancies across the economy was 30,000 down in the three months to September to 459,000, the biggest quarterly reduction since the start of 2009.

The number of people out of work for over a year was 821,000 in the quarter to August, up by 27,000 from the previous three months, reaching the highest total since early 1997. Jobless 18 to 24-year-olds increased by 35,000 to 742,000, the highest for a year.

Meanwhile, the number of people in work increased by 178,000 to 29.16 million, the best figure for a year. Employment is up by 241,000 on the year but is still 270,000 lower than before the start of the recession.

The latest unemployment rate is 7.7%, a fall of 0.1% on the quarter, while the claimant count rate remained at 4.5%.

There were 9.28 million people classed as economically inactive in the quarter to August, down by 66,000, largely because of a fall in the number of students counted in the figure.

Meanwhile, a new report by accountancy giant PwC has warned that almost 500,000 jobs could be lost in the private sector because of the Government's cuts in public spending. The report said the output of private firms could be slashed by around £46 billion a year by 2014/15 due to the impact on firms supplying the public sector.

By The Press Association