Revealed: How the world’s poorest people
face a bill of US$321 for beans over rice
The cost of a plate of food in the world’s poorest countries can
reach hundreds of US dollars in purchasing power equivalent, new
research from the World Food Programme and Mastercard has shown.
The study found that people in developing countries face having to
pay up to a day’s earnings for one basic meal – even more in cases
of civil conflict or economic collapse.*
The differences with the rich world are stark. Take New York
State, the baseline for the Counting the Beans: the True Cost of
Food around the World. There, a simple plate of food such as a bean
stew costs US$1.20 to make. This represents 0.6% of average daily
income. By contrast, in South Sudan, the worst-ranking country in
the study, a plate of food costs 268 times this ratio, or the
equivalent of $321.70. The study also calculates the percentage of
average daily income it takes in each given country to purchase a
simple plate of food.
The study’s conclusions have strengthened Mastercard’s resolve
to reach its goal, announced as part of a global initiative, of
providing over 100 million meals to those in need around the
world.
The worst-scoring countries and territories, according to the
study, are:
1.
SOUTH SUDAN: A plate of food
relative to New York (NY) income costs $321.70.
- A huge 155% of Sudanese average daily income is needed to
purchase a simple plate of food 2.
NIGERIA: A plate of food relative
to NY income costs $200.32.
- 121% of Nigerian average daily income is needed to purchase a
simple plate of food 3.
DEIR EZZOR, SYRIA: A plate of food
relative to NY income costs $190.11.
- 115% of Syrian average daily income is needed to purchase a
simple plate of food. 4.
MALAWI: A plate of food relative to
NY income costs $94.43.
- 45% of Malawian average daily income is needed to purchase a
simple plate of food. 5.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: A
plate of food relative to NY income costs $82.10.
- 40% of Congolese average daily income is needed to purchase a
simple plate of food.
“Without food we cannot live, learn or grow,” said Ann Cairns,
President International, Mastercard. “At Mastercard, we are
harnessing technology and resources to improve lives and end the
cycle of poverty. Our commitment to deliver 100 million meals, and
our partnership with WFP, will help bring closer a world free of
hunger.”
Every day, 815 million people go hungry. Other WFP research
supported by Mastercard’s data experts has found a direct link
between nutritious school meals and academic achievement and
productivity in later life. Children who benefited from a 10-year
school meals project in Sri Lanka went on to earn 5% more as
working adults. A cost-benefit analysis also found that every US$1
invested in school meals brings an economic return of US$3 to
US$10.
“Parents often face agonising choices”, Cairns added. “Should
they send children out to work in order to feed the family, or send
them to school and have the family starve? By sponsoring school
meals, we allow children to stay in school, learn and become more
productive working adults. Families, communities and ultimately
entire economies prosper.”
“The research in Counting the Beans is a stark reminder of how
conflict can create cruel inequalities in terms of access to food,”
said David Beasley, Executive Director of WFP. “Mastercard’s
committed partnership has enabled us to dig deeper into what is
behind these issues, and we have been able to present pioneering
solutions that can offset some of the worst repercussions of the
conflicts, disasters and food supply chain problems that lead to
food insecurity. Counting the Beans illustrates just how urgent it
is that the world mobilize to stop conflicts and get us closer to
our goal of ending hunger by 2030.”
Mastercard and WFP want to highlight some of the real reasons
countries often end up in a vicious cycle of poverty, such as
conflict and insecurity, fragmented supply chains and infectively
stored crops due to lack of technology. In turn, the partnership
aims to provide innovative programmes, such as free, nutritious
school meals, to help alleviate some of the more complex problems
behind poverty and hunger and halt this continuous poverty
cycle.
*Methodology
A standard meal was put together – a stew made of beans or other
pulses, paired with a carbohydrate component that matches local
preferences. The quantity of each ingredient was worked out, and
estimates made of the total weight of purchased food items and
final edible weight of the meal. The cost of the ingredients for a
single serving was calculated in the national currency of each
country covered. An average daily budget per person was estimated
in the local currency, derived from national GDP per capita
figures. Where these were unavailable, alternative data sources
were used. The meal-to-income ratio was calculated, providing the
proportion of the daily budget spent to purchase one serving of the
meal. A theoretical price was then calculated by retrospectively
applying the meal-to-income ratio for an individual in a developing
country to the daily budget of a New York consumer.
About Mastercard
Mastercard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology
company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s
fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers,
financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in
more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and
solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping,
traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more
secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter
@MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction
Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement
Bureau.
About WFP
WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger
worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working
with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each
year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media and @wfp_mena
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171015005027/en/
For WFPJessica Andrews, +39 342 648
1694Jessica.Andrews@wfp.orgorAndre Vornic, +39 349 980
1068Andre.Vornic@wfp.orgorFor MastercardUK: Rose Beaumont, +44 7725
219970rose.beaumont@mastercard.com
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