Hunger Watch
Hunger Watch is the ACF International Network’s epicenter for advocacy and research. Based in our London headquarters, Hunger Watch supports ACF’s broader mission of raising awareness and engaging public opinion; packaging and delivering ACF field expertise, analysis, and recommendations to key decision-makers, institutions, and political actors; targeting hunger’s complex of underlying causes; advocating for humanitarian values and outcomes; liaising with academia to exchange scientific research and field-level investigations; and ensuring that vulnerable communities have a voice among international humanitarian deliberations.
Hunger Watch collects, compiles, and packages data and findings from ACF’s extensive field programs in over 40 countries. These on-the-ground perspectives—gleaned directly from thorough field surveys, regional studies, and ongoing technical research—are used to improve understandings of global hunger and influence responses to humanitarian crises.
Hunger Watch’s current thematic research is focused on defining and measuring the magnitude of malnutrition and hunger and their impact on livelihoods around the world. Our research addresses high priority areas in international development and strive to identify hunger’s root causes.
Current research is being carried out on the relationships between:
- Malnutrition and violent conflict
- The impacts of HIV/AIDS on hunger and malnutrition—case studies in Malawi and Zambia
- The impacts of market instability and climate change on malnutrition rates—case studies on the Sahel
- The relationship between malnutrition and morbidity—case studies in Ethiopia
Our findings and recommendations are used to inform and influence humanitarian practices and policies, enabling Action Against Hunger to enhance its own capacities, fine-tune program effectiveness, and influence external stakeholders. Hunger Watch also adds value by distilling local perspectives from ACF’s extensive collaboration with local communities. ACF’s painstaking commitment to community participation plays a key role in the development of effective humanitarian strategies and Hunger Watch can bring these lessons to a broader audience.
The Hunger Watch project is critical to the development of ACF-UK’s organizational identity. Its ability to function independently on behalf of ACF’s International Network and the populations we serve enable ACF to further develop the skills and analytical capacities needed through technical and social research.
Hunger Watch Publications
Hunger and HIV: From Food Crisis to Integrated Care
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Download [4.56 MB] As part of a humanitarian effort to address the AIDS pandemic, Action Against Hunger works to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on vulnerable communities. HIV has complicated the treatment of severe malnutrition, challenging traditional approaches and requiring substantial investments in field-based research. This publication makes an important contribution to understanding the linkages between HIV/AIDS and hunger by highlighting Action Against Hunger's vital research in Malawi.
Water and HIV: Working for Positive Solutions
Download [2.41 MB] A striking relationships exists between the HIV pandemic and the impact of inadequate water and sanitation resources. Infectious diseases stemming from poor sanitation and contaminated water sources complicate malnutrition and illness; for those with HIV, the impact and risk is even greater. Yet, as outlined in this report, Action Against Hunger’s ongoing research and field work offer a range of proven, cost-effective solutions.
Women and Hunger: Women play a central role in the fight against hunger
Download [2.51 MB] As the principal providers for families around the world, women are key partners in the struggle to end hunger and agencies must incorporate such realities into the very design of their humanitarian programs.
The Justice of Eating: The Struggle for Food and Dignity in Recent Humanitarian Crises
(In Print)
Combining thorough analysis with personal testimonies from struggling families, this report assesses the underlying causes of hunger in several African countries. A powerful indictment of local institutions, national governments, international agencies, and the socioeconomic forces complicit in the persistence of world hunger, this report argues that an end to malnutrition is fully possible with sufficient political will.
This publication is currently available for purchase from Pluto Press
Local Voices: A Community Perspective On HIV and Hunger in Zambia
Download [9.03 MB] This report documents the findings of Local Voices, a six month research project that provided HIV orphans, vulnerable children and their caretakers with the opportunity to voice the difficulties they face providing food, water and healthcare for their families. Through detailed interviews and discussions, the project carried out a dialogue with 20 families from four areas of Zambia.
