‘Hunger Hotspots Report’ was released on 23 March, 2021 by -
- (1)World Food Programme (WFP)
- (2)Jointly by FAO and WFP
- (3)Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
- (4)UNICEF
Answer
Why
Correct — option (2), Jointly by FAO and WFP.
The report's full title is *Hunger Hotspots: FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity, March to July 2021 outlook*. Its required citation reads "WFP and FAO. 2021. Hunger Hotspots."
UN News reported on 23 March 2021 that the report was "published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP)". It was released jointly by the two Rome-based UN agencies, not by one of them alone.
The report says it "is developed jointly" by teams of WFP (its Emergency Operations and its Research, Assessment and Monitoring divisions) and of FAO (its early warning teams and regional and country offices).
The idea to remember: Hunger Hotspots = a joint FAO–WFP early-warning report; the March 2021 edition covered March–July 2021.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)World Food Programme (WFP) — WFP is one of the two publishers, but not the only one. The report is titled "FAO-WFP early warnings" and was published by both FAO and WFP.
An option naming WFP alone leaves out FAO, so it does not match the report.
- (3)Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) — FAO is the other publisher, but again not the only one. UN News reported the report as published by FAO and WFP together.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu and WFP Executive Director David Beasley both spoke about it on the day of release.
- (4)UNICEF — UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, did not publish this report. The Hunger Hotspots report of 23 March 2021 carries the names of FAO and WFP only.
Its analysis concerns acute food insecurity across 20 countries and situations, prepared by FAO and WFP teams.
Concept
The Hunger Hotspots report is, in its own words, "a forward-looking, early-warning analysis of countries and situations, called hotspots, where acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate over the coming months."
The March 2021 edition found 20 countries and situations where acute food insecurity was likely to deteriorate during March–July 2021.
It named Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria as the highest alert level, with a risk of famine.
RPSC's 2021 syllabus lists "Major Current Events and Issues of Rajasthan, India and International Importance." under Current Affairs.
The report names the main drivers for the March–July 2021 outlook: conflict, economic shocks, the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, weather extremes, and the spread of plant pests and animal diseases.
At the launch, WFP's David Beasley asked donors for "the US$ 5.5 billion we are asking for this year". UN News said the funding would go to humanitarian food assistance, cash and emergency livelihoods interventions, in line with an appeal the two agencies launched earlier that month.
Key facts
- 23 March 2021: FAO and WFP released Hunger Hotspots — FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity, March to July 2021 outlook.
- The report found 20 countries and situations likely to see further deterioration in acute food insecurity.
- Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria were at the highest alert level, with a risk of famine.
- UN News reported that more than 34 million people were already facing emergency levels of acute hunger.
- FAO's Director-General was Qu Dongyu and WFP's Executive Director was David Beasley at the time of release.
Sources: the report's required citation (WFP and FAO, 2021) and UN News, 23 March 2021.
Study next
Common traps
- Joint versus single publisher: the report carries both FAO and WFP in its title, so an option naming only one of them is incomplete.
- Reports on hunger by other bodies: UNICEF is a UN agency, but it is not a publisher of Hunger Hotspots.
- Edition and outlook period: the edition released on 23 March 2021 covers the outlook for March to July 2021.
A question can name an international report and its release date and ask which body or bodies released it.
A question can also ask which countries the report placed at the highest alert level, or how many hotspots it identified.
Related PYQs
Ease of Doing Business ranking for the states in India is released by –
- (1) Department of Industry and Commerce
- (2) Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
- (3) Investment Promotion Bureau
- (4) Rajasthan Small Industry Corporation Limited (RAJSICO)
Answer(2)
Same task: a report or ranking is named and the body that releases it is asked. That question is on the Ease of Doing Business ranking of Indian states (RPSC's key: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade); this one is on the international Hunger Hotspots report of March 2021.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
According to the FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots report released on 23 March 2021, which countries or areas were at the highest alert level?
- (a)Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria
- (b)Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela
- (c)Afghanistan, Syria and Lebanon
- (d)Angola, Madagascar and Mozambique
Answer(1) — The report says Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria represent the highest alert level for the outlook period, due to a risk of famine. The countries in options (2), (3) and (4) appear among the report's hotspots, but not in its highest alert level. - practice — not a real PYQ
How many countries and situations did the Hunger Hotspots report of March 2021 identify as likely to see further deterioration in acute food insecurity during March–July 2021?
- (a)12
- (b)15
- (c)20
- (d)25
Answer(3) — The report's executive summary counts 20 countries and situations for the March–July 2021 outlook. Options (1), (2) and (4) are other numbers.