End Hunger
More than 820 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger.
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Over 2 billion people do not have sufficient, safe and nutritious food.
Hunger is a global problem. About 3.1 million children die from malnutrition every year (i.e. 8 500 children every day). One in five children suffer from hunger throughout the year. An additional 83 - 132 million people are at risk of being malnourished in 2020 due to the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Global hunger map. Source: viaGood
Causes of Hunger Malnutrition results from eating a diet which does not supply sufficient nutrients, thus resulting in health problems. Millions of children die from malnutrition every year.
**Poor food quality **has a devastating effect on humans. For a healthy diet, it is necessary to consume sufficient amounts of all nutrients. Malnourished people do not take in sufficient protein and other essential nutrients, so they lose weight, are prone to infection, are frequently ill, and in severe cases, even die. Infants and young children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of poor-quality food.
Not every child has got a meal at school. Source: Pexels
Did you know… 66 million primary-school-age children attend classes hungry in the developing world? More than 820 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger.
Poverty is the main cause of hunger in developing and developed countries, in both cities and the countryside. People in developing countries are affected the most, as they do not have the land to grow enough food to supply themselves with enough to eat and cannot afford to purchase food from other sources.
Over-population in developing countries is another major cause of poverty and hence of hunger. Education and adequate free birth control are essential to limit the number of children born every day in poor countries.
Schoolchildren in India having a meal break. Source: Pixabay
Food shortages are another obvious reason. Smallholder farmers and their families depend on their own crops to survive between harvests. They often do not have adequate storage facilities to protect their supplies against pests and the weather. Families sometimes even pull children out of school to earn the income to pay for food.
Poor infrastructure for the transport of food from areas with plenty of food, to regions where there are shortages, as well as a lack of irrigational infrastructure resulting in water shortages, are major causes of hunger and malnutrition.
Climate change affects the poorest developing countries in particular. It is detrimental to food and water supplies. This is multiplied by the population explosion, which creates increasing pressure on agricultural production.
Temperature increases in subtropical climate areas affect rice crops. Source: Pexels
War and conflicts cause wide-scale poverty, affecting especially the poorest people. Homes are destroyed, infrastructure is damaged and communities are displaced. This results in forced migration.
Discrimination against specific racial, ethnic or religious minorities. Girls are also more often pulled out of school to work or to marry. This problem is addressed by viaGood in the Cause: Support Gender Equality.
Meat consumption is another underlying cause of food shortages. Many people today eat a diet that is based on meat, dairy and eggs. Most people rarely, if ever, stop to consider the resources required to produce their food. In addition to feed for livestock, additional land, water and energy resources are required to house and raise the animals for human consumption. More energy is required to transport these animals to slaughterhouses – only because even the poorest people feel that they can not survive on a meatless diet! Education on the benefits of a meatless diet is essential.
Share of underweight children. Source: viaGood
The average Western diet is extremely resource-intensive. In order to produce animal products, land, water, and energy are required to grow, harvest, and transport the feed that is then fed to the farmed animals. We currently produce enough calories to feed 10-11 billion people worldwide. However, the majority of this food goes to feed livestock, not hungry people.
Did you know… nearly 13 million children in the United States face hunger daily?
More than 5 million children worldwide under the age of 5 die every year.
It is a shocking reality of our times that many children die because their mothers cannot provide them with proper nutrition.
Food Insecurity Food insecurity is a really serious issue facing all of humanity. With the global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, food supplies will be under far greater stress, with climate change affecting the amount of available agricultural land.
99 % of the world's malnourished people live in developing countries, while females make up 60 % of the world's hungry. Moreover, 66 million school-age children in the developing world go to school hungry (if they attend school at all). This is a major problem in Africa.
Mother-driven detection of malnutrition in Niger. Source: Flickr
Effect of Hunger on Diseases Malnourished children suffer from illness for up to 160 days per year. Malnutrition increases the effect of all diseases. As a result, more than 5 million children worldwide under the age of 5 years die every year, i.e. nearly 15 000 every day.
Poor nutrition during pregnancy or before an infant is 2 years of age can result in permanent problems of physical and mental development. Malnutrition has stunted the growth of 1 in 4 children in the developing world, who suffer lifelong effects, from chronic diseases to learning problems and lower earning potential as adults.
Globally, approximately 100 million under-5-year-olds are underweight, most of whom live in Asia and Africa. The lack of micronutrients in children is influenced by the mother’s health, especially during pregnancy. About 40 % of pregnant women and 40 % of children under 5 years of age in developing countries are anemic, half of whom are estimated to be iron-deficient.
Some, especially in low- and middle-income countries, face the double burden of malnutrition, where poor nutrition is combined with overweight, obesity and diet-related diseases.
Sub-Saharan Africa is Worst Affected Approximately 1 in 3 people living in sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated that 239 million people (approx. 30 % of the population) in sub-Saharan Africa suffered from hunger in 2010. In addition, the UN Millennium Project reported that over 40 % of all Africans are unable to obtain a regular supply of food.
Being malnourished can affect brain development. Read more in the Support Education cause!
Hunger in the USA Hunger is not only a matter of poor countries. In the United States, as well as in other developed countries, hunger is mainly caused by poverty as a result of unemployment or low income. In single-parent families, the parent may not be able to work sufficient hours due to the shortage or cost of adequate childcare facilities. As a result, 1 in 6 children in the USA do not know where their next meal is coming from. 5 out of 6 children who rely on free or low-cost food at school do not receive free food in the summer vacations.
For the healthy development of children, it is necessary to provide for the entire needs of all families. It is necessary to secure food aid for mothers, and nutritional programs for school children.
Read the “Solution” section!
Proper nutrition for mothers as well as for children is necessary.
The issue of food insecurity worldwide is a complex one. It is necessary to provide nutritional supplements and vitamins for children, and to support proper nutrition for mothers and pregnant women, in order to give birth to healthy babies.
It is also vital to limit the population explosion worldwide. Birth control should be promoted and freely provided by governments, especially in poor countries. There are often cultural taboos (especially in African nations) about limiting the number of children in families. Many poor people regard their children as their only “wealth” – hence women go on having an increasing number of babies, even starting to give birth to them as mere children themselves.
People must be educated to realize that overpopulation leads to starvation and deprivation!
Everyone can get involved: Raise awareness and increase information about the foods that we have available to us, to better utilize and maximize those foods.
Raise awareness about the population explosion – and the benefits of having fewer children in a family.
Eat smaller portions and make at least half of your meal to consist of vegetables.
Reduce your own food waste. Currently, one-third of all food produced is wasted.
Promote gender equality. Most problems are interconnected, and women bear a greater burden for many household chores, as well as in agriculture and maternal and child health. Females in developing countries spend hours each day fetching water, due to the poor infrastructure. This limits the time available for their education.
Support projects to improve hygiene. If people live in an area with insufficient sanitation or poor hygienic practices, they may be susceptible to diarrhea or other waterborne illnesses. Uncontaminated water can save lives.
Eat less meat, perhaps fewer times per week. It is estimated that people who eat beef use 160 times more land, water and fuel resources to sustain their diets than vegetarians. It takes about 13 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. All that grain would go a long way toward feeding the hundreds of millions of people—many of them children—who don’t have enough to eat.
Even better, become a vegetarian/ vegan. Learn the benefits of vegetarianism – for yourself and for the entire planet! Educate yourself on the health benefits of cutting all meat out of your diet. You can certainly survive and thrive on a meat-free diet!
Try to reduce the miles that your food has to travel. Locally sourced, seasonal food is good for your health and good for the environment.
Grow your own food. Not only are home-grown fruit and vegetables really tasty and healthy, but they also reconnect you with Nature.
Support projects to control crop infections. Crops are threatened by droughts and floods, and decimated by pest invasions, hence leading to food shortages.
Support climate-smart agriculture which allows farmers to adapt to climate change. Local farmers will learn to diversify crop varieties and practice new agricultural methods, benefiting both nutritionally and financially.
Help to improve food storage systems. Due to a shortage of storage facilities, crops are partially wasted. Building grain stores and other facilities are just a few examples of improvements that can help locals to survive.
