The latest Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows that the number of hungry people in the world grew to one billion last year, as the global economic recession compounded the effects of the 2007-8 food crisis. The first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) — to halve the proportion of hungry people between 1990 and 2015 — is therefore worryingly off-track. The latest GHI report notes that most policies tackling child hunger have targeted children under five years old; however, research shows that the effects of malnutrition after the age of two are largely irreversible. It therefore recommends concentrating resources on eliminating malnutrition during the crucial first two years of a child’s life. Source: The GHI is a multidimensional measure of global hunger published jointly by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Concern Worldwide, and Welthungerhilfe. Eurostep Weekly. http://www.ifpri.org/publication/2010-global-hunger-index