Joachim von Braun is Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (www.ifpri.org).

Forecast 2020: Financial Meltdown and Malnutrition

In the aftermath of the recent global food crisis and economic downturn, the world's poor face unparalleled challenges to their food and nutrition security. While increased volatility in food prices will likely continue, wages for unskilled labour are failing to keep pace. Meanwhile, the financial crisis has pushed up unemployment and further reduced the purchasing power of poor people, who in a globalized economy now feel the effects of economic shocks more acutely.