Eradicating+Hunger




 * "If we can conquer space, we can conquer...hunger" - Buzz Aldrin**

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are ranked in numbers. The first is the eradication of global poverty and hunger. We'll focus on hunger here. In a world wide effort to eradicate hunger the UN leads the way with the Word Food Programme.

Here is what the World Food Programme states on why hunger is the top concern:

"Eradicating hunger, part of the MDG No.1, is the key to development. While people are hungry, all other development activities are thwarted. The hungry can concentrate little other than their next meal. Hungry mothers give birth to hungry children, who, if they live long enough, grow into hungry adults. Although the proportion of hungry people in the world has declined over the past few years, the actual number of undernourished people has been rising for the past decade – mainly due to population growth and demand from the developing world. We are on track to meet the goal of halving the proportion of hungry people by 2015 in east and south-east Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the European part of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and in north Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, however, where malnutrition is highest, we have a long way to go. In parts of west Asia and the Asian countries in the CIS, there has either been no progress or even a deterioration of the situation."

The UN and WFP use multiple ways to bring food to the malnourished. Food supply is not the problem. Locally, it may be, but globally it is not. The world has enough food to feed all of its inhabitants. The problem is in distribution. The food is not evenly distributed and to do so takes a great logistic effort.


 * Statistics:**
 * Every 3.6 seconds a person dies due to poverty
 * Every 3 seconds a child dies from hunger
 * More than 840 million people in the world are malnourished — 799 million (95%) of them live in the developing world.
 * More than 153 million of the world's malnourished people are children under the age of 5.
 * Six million children under the age of 5 die every year as a result of hunger.
 * While every country in the world has the potential of growing enough food to feed itself, 54 nations currently do not produce enough food to feed their populations, nor can they afford to import the necessary commodities to make up the gap. Most of these countries are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Visit [] for a real time global hunger statistics update.

Statistics from [|care.org]

Malnutrition and starvation are a huge global problem. Most prevalent in the developing world, these issues must be addressed. Without solving hunger in a region, no other lasting improvements can be made to help alleviate poverty and help the people of the region.
 * Overview:**


 * MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.**


 * //Target: Reduce by half the number of people who live on less than a dollar a day.//**
 * In 2003, 1.2 billion people were living in poverty (surviving on less than $1 a day).

//**Target: Reduce by half the number of people who suffer from hunger.**//
 * Malnutrition causes more than half of all child deaths.
 * Hunger and poverty claim 25,000 lives each day.
 * 852 million people across the world are hungry; more than the population of the United States, Canada, and the European Union combined.
 * Poor families spend over 70% of their income on food; the average American family spends only 10%.
 * Hunger is inherited. Each year, 17 million children are born underweight because their mothers are malnourished.
 * Basic health and nutrition needs of the world’s poorest could be met for an additional $13 billion a year. That’s less than what the US and Europe spends on pet food annually.

Credit: []



To solve global hunger we must solve the logistical problem of global distribution of resources. For not having enough food is not the problem. The world has enough food to feed all of its inhabitants. However, these resources are not spread evenly over the world and those areas with the most starvation are areas with sparse food supply. The United Nations World Food Programme works to distribute food to malnourished parts of the globe. The World Food Programme plays a vital role in getting food to hungry people and will be a crucial link in helping to complete Millennium Development Goal 1. However, the cost of the logistics required to feed the entire world make any solution to MDG 1 near impossible. Further, implementation of such a plan could surely not claim success by 2015, however, that is not to say we should not try. With the proper plan and a good amount of capitol and time MDG 1 can be accomplished.
 * Solutions:**

If global economic growth continues at the current rate, poverty rates will fall to 13% (from 28%) by 2015, decreasing the number of people living in poverty by 366 million. Due to broad-based economic growth in China, 150 million people are no longer living in poverty. Every day the World Food Programme (WFP) has 20 planes in the sky, 5,000 trucks on roads and 40 ships at sea delivering food aid. WFP food has reached 1.2 billion of the world's poor in the past 40 years - almost India's population. For only US$21, WFP can provide one month’s worth of food to a woman and three of her children. Every year, WFP feeds 300 million undernourished school children. A donation of only US$34, feeds a poor student for an entire school year.
 * What is being done?**

The World Food Programme is hard at work doing its part to reach Goal One of the MDGs. WFP provides food rations for people in emergency situations using an international logistical system to transport food from plentiful sources to where it is needed most. WFP also supports development through Food for Work programs, which provide food aid for working people. Having access to food allows poor people to develop community projects such as roads and irrigation systems, rather than focusing on individual survival.
 * World Food Programme (WFP)**

//For more information on the World Food Programme visit:// [|http://www.wfp.org//]//.//

UNDP, the United Nation’s global development program, works in developing countries around the world to end poverty. For example, in Timor-Leste (where 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line) UNDP, along with the European Union, is working with local communities to help them improve job and small business opportunities, gain access to small loans and widen access to markets. In order to fulfill these goals, UNDP is helping build bridges and is teaching farmers and traders small business development skills.
 * United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)**

//For more information on the United Nations Development Programme visit:// [|http://www.undp.org//]//.//

The Hunger Project is an organization and global movement committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. In order to fulfill this goal the Hunger Project has created many empowering programs including the African Woman Food Farmer Initiative, which creates banks that are exclusively owned and operated by women to improve their farms.
 * The Hunger Project**

//For more information on the Hunger Project visit: [|http://www.thp.org].//

Credit for Organizational Information: []

Every little bit helps, and little things can organize and change the world. But the little guy cannot do it on his own. Many local and small aid groups provide vital food and nourishment all across the globe. Further the aforementioned groups are hauling a large part of the load towards eradicating world hunger. However, achieving MDG 1 by 2015, unfortunately, looks quite unlikely. Below is a map showing the Global Hunger Index and progress towards the completion of MDG 1, not some regions have gotten worse since the 2003 World Food Programme study results above. However, with hard work and determination and persistance, one day (hopefully sooner than later), global hunger can and will be eradicated.
 * Progress Towards the Eradication of World Hunger**

Links to other MDGs Eradicating Hunger Achieving Universal Education Empowering Women Poverty and Health Insuring Environmental Sustainability Developing a Global Partnership for Development Basic Costs Demographics