Food insecurity - not just about rural communities in Africa and Asia.

In June, the FAO reported that world hunger will reach a historic high this year, with over one billion people projected to go hungry every day. Here is what Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, had to say in July: ‘We are in a mess. The financial crisis hit the world like a sudden jolt, and it hit the world where it hurts the most: money. [y] All countries, rich and poor, north and south, are affected. But this is a crisis that will hurt the poor the hardest and the longesty. Globalization has not turned out to be the rising tide that lifts all boats. Instead, wealth has been created and spread in waves that lift the bigger boats but swamp or sink many smaller ones’. This month we continue last month’s theme. Food insecurity is often perceived as a public health crisis principally for impoverished rural communities in lowincome countries. This is a misperception. The crisis is most acute in Africa and Asia, but the urban poor are just as vulnerable, and food insecurity is an issue within and around cities all over the world.