Despite Egypt’s recent economic growth, poverty has expanded, especially in rural Upper Egypt, which contains two thirds of the country's most impoverished citizens. Most small landholders are marginalized and face inefficient value chains. The Joint Programme worked in three locations in the poorest Upper Egyptian Governates to promote equitable partnerships between small farmers and private sector investors and to increase the efficiency of pro-poor horticulture value chains.

Egypt faces serious risks from climate change. The 15th most populous country in the world, it relies on the Nile for 97% of its water and must import 40% of its food; the supply of both is imperiled by climate change, which also threatens to deepen social inequalities. The aim of the joint programme was to help Egypt align its climate risk management and human development efforts by combining mitigation and adaptation under one Climate Risk Management mechanism, and by paying special attention to the country's vulnerable populations.

China’s impressive progress on reducing hunger has relied mainly on increasing incomes and food production. But massive disparities exist across geographical areas: in 2003-2005, 120 million Chinese from poor areas were undernourished. The prevalence of stunting and low weight for children under 5 in rural areas was 3 to 4 times higher than in urban areas during the period 1990-2010. The Joint Programme focused on an at-risk population of approximately 1.8 million children and women of child-bearing age by piloting a comprehensive approach to food security, child and maternal nutrition in six of China's poorest counties. 

A 2008 national survey revealed that one in five Filipino children under the age of 5 was underweight and almost a third were stunted. The recent energy, food and financial crises have added to the challenge set by the government of reducing the prevalence of underweight to 17.25% by 2015. The Joint Programme supported these efforts, concentrating on improving exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in children 0-24 months.