Hunger, Discourse and the Policy Process: How do Conceptualizations of the Problem of ‘Hunger’ Affect its Measurement and Solution?

Abstract

This paper applies ‘policy processes’ literature to constructions of hunger. Problem conceptualization and associated solutions are understood as shaped by discourse, rhetoric and interests. Two constructions of the problem of ‘hunger’ are analysed: hunger as lack of food, associated with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and hunger as malnutrition, associated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). While both conceptualizations agree hunger is a vital problem, the FAO's construction reflects its mandate on agricultural production, and the WHO's and UNICEF's construction supports their mandates on health and children. Although both conceptualizations are used to measure progress towards the ‘hunger’ Millennium Development Goal, the different conceptions, and associated measurements, have diverging implications for the direction of resources.