Food insecurity is a serious problem that affects many, with people going hungry in all regions of the world. According to the US Department of Agriculture, approximately 1.2 billion people globally lack consistent access to enough calories. In this episode of Big World, SIS alumna Valerie Guarnieri, assistant executive director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), joins us to discuss world hunger as well as her career combating food insecurity.

Guarnieri first explains how the global experiences in her childhood and adolescence influenced what she wanted to do with her career (2:03) and why she chose to come to SIS (2:52). She also describes the roles she held in the US government as well as how combating hunger became a part of her work (4:16). Guarnieri then shares the WFP initiatives of which she’s most proud (6:33).

Digging into the complex causes of hunger, she explains how hunger challenges are intertwined with other global issues, such as climate change and refugee crises (9:39). Guarnieri explains how the war in Ukraine has impacted WFP’s overall strategy (13:06) and how the programme is working to counteract the impacts of the war (15:42). She also breaks down the specific challenges that WFP has faced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (18:59). Lastly, Guarnieri shares her advice for SIS students who want to dedicate their careers to combating hunger (21:58) and states why she believes it’s possible to end world hunger, as well as why we haven’t yet done so (23:55).

During our “Take Five” segment, Guarnieri shares five things that she would want governments to do to end world hunger (11:04).