19 November 2015: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) launched Compact2025, an initiative to end hunger and undernutrition by 2025. Compact2025 will initially focus on scaling up actions to end hunger and malnutrition in four focal countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi and Rwanda. The initiative is guided by a high-level council with representatives from the World Food Programme (WFP), the EC, and government officials from the focal countries.

With a focus on country-led strategies and investments that bring together multiple sectors, the initiative will: engage countries to build their own capacity to develop strategies and implement programs and policies; and create a Knowledge and Innovation Hub to provide evidence-based guidance on scaling up efforts to end hunger and undernutrition, for policymakers and practitioners.

In her remarks at the launch event, on 18 November 2015, in Washington, DC, US, IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan stressed that “it is possible to accelerate progress, if you combine political will with the right policies and investments.” Fan highlighted promising evidence that the world can end hunger and undernutrition by 2025, noting rapid progress in some countries. She described ending hunger as “a moral imperative” and critical to helping countries end poverty. WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin expressed her support for ending hunger by 2025 in a video message. She highlighted the importance of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 on ending hunger, in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) President Kanayo Nwanze emphasized the role of smallholders in “building a food secure world and ending hunger and malnutrition,” via a video message. He described smallholders as “the engine of sustainable and inclusive rural transformation.” He said gender equality and the empowerment of rural women are essential to achieve all of the SDGs, not just those related to food and nutrition security (FNS). He recommended targeted investments for poor, rural women to address women’s limited access to land, credit and services.

In Rwanda, Compact2025 will examine existing programs to determine how to best support the government in improving implementation and setting priorities. In an interview, Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Agnes Binagwaho, said “My target is not my grandchild. My target is the child of the poorest woman in Rwanda, because when she is served, that means everyone else will be as well.”

IFPRI is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. [IFPRI Press Release] [Compact2025 Press Release] [IFAD President’s Video Message] [WFP Executive Director’s Video Message] [Compact2025 Briefing Note] [Compact2025 Press Release on Rwanda] [IFAD Webpage on FNS]