Glossary
Glossary
One shared vocabulary for the White Paper, Framework and Handbook.
- O — Outcome gap
- How far people's food security, diet affordability and child nutrition are from agreed targets.
- K — Capacity gap
- How far the food system's nine pillars are from agreed benchmarks.
- H — Resilience gap
- Share of needed food service that would go unmet under tested shocks. Simulated, not observed.
- G — Headline gap
- The average of the three gaps. Always read it alongside each part.
- R — Regenerative agriculture
- Restore soil function while keeping production viable.
- W — Water
- Reliable, safe water service within sustainable limits.
- B — Biodiversity
- Maintain habitat and the biological functions farms rely on.
- P — Policy
- Essential public duties carried out to standard and on time.
- S — Surplus redistribution
- Safe surplus food reaching people with unmet need.
- D — Storage
- Safe, usable inventory held over time.
- I — Infrastructure
- Processing and deliveries completed in full and on time.
- E — Education
- People able to perform the practical tasks required.
- C — Capital
- Suitable financing that arrives when it is needed.
- Measured · Missing · Out of date · Not applicable · Disputed
- Every value carries one of five states. A missing value is never shown as zero.
Credits and partner methods
These measures are the work of the organisations below. We use them with credit, following their published guidance, and welcome their review.
- FAO — Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), Voices of the Hungry; Prevalence of Undernourishment (SDG 2.1.1); Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W)
- World Bank & FAO — Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet (Food Prices for Nutrition)
- WHO & UNICEF — WHO Child Growth Standards (2006) and joint malnutrition estimates for stunting and wasting
- WFP — Food Consumption Score (FCS), VAM technical guidance