Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 181

CONCLUSION
accountability in which progress toward the goals was tracked annually and communicated
widely. This regular, accessible reporting put persistent divides, such as those between rural
and urban areas and between the very poorest and everyone else, into bold relief. The shift
from measuring inputs (we lent $2 million, we installed fifty wells, we trained one hundred
teachers) to measuring outputs (50 percent fewer people dying of malaria, twice as many girls
enrolled in secondary school, half as many people drinking unsafe water) meant that investments had to yield tangible results to count as progress.
The eighth goal involved raising the money to pay for this progress. The flow of foreign aid
had dwindled during the 1990s, and the international consensus around the ambitious MDG
targets provided a shot in the arm for development assistance. Total development aid went
from $79 billion in 2004 to almost $129 billion in 2010 (in constant 2009 dollars).3 Though
that sum fell short of what some had hoped for, and funds slowed after the global recession,
such an increase had been unthinkable in the business-as-usual scenario.
The MDGs encouraged a wide range of actors to pull in the same direction and provided
a clear measure of success. Could those in the United States working to reduce hunger and
food insecurity commit to a small set of widely-agreed outcomes—within a set time period—
that would focus efforts, increase collaboration, and maybe even stimulate some healthy
competition in an area where today too many Americans are paying too little attention? We
think it’s worth a try.
Sarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis are co-directors of Measure of America, a project of the Social
Science Research Council, and authors of the book series of the same name. The most recent edition of
Measure of America was released in June 2013.

Figure c.1 Progress Depends on How You Look at Things

How are

How is the

economy

people

doing?

doing?

$
GDP

TRADITIONAL
Approach

PROGRESS
In America

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Approach

Source: Social Science Research Council

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