Tackling and eliminating global hunger may sound like an impossible task but it is a real and attainable goal. World hunger is down from 20 percent in 1990 to 16 percent currently. However, this is still 6 percent shy of the 10 percent goal that was set for 2015.

Nearly one in seven people do not get enough nutritious food to be healthy and lead a normal, active lifestyle. Hunger and malnutrition are a couple of the most serious health issues worldwide.

The biggest cause of hunger is poverty. More often than not, if someone is living in poverty, they can’t afford the barest necessities, including food. This leads to chronic hunger and subsequently, malnutrition.

The good news is, there are many ways to stop global hunger in its tracks both on a global and individual scale effort. Here are the top 10 ways that we can end global hunger:

1. School meals help to promote school attendance as it may be the only time a child gets a full nutritious meal. Parents will send their children for this reason alone and will allow the children to get a proper education.
2. Revolutionary technology, such as a pre-paid voucher sent to the phone of a refugee to use in a local store, benefits everyone. It saves money, provides profit, and means the consumer, store owner, and farmer all suffer less during times of crisis.
3. A Backup Plan in case of a disaster or financial crisis. Food is an important factor in coping with shock.
4. Providing farmers of developing countries with a market for their products and the tools with which to navigate those markets will allow them to produce more and better quality food. This can also help the farmer and their families financially.
5. Humanitarian action in the form of food assistance, especially during a time of crisis. This will provide the necessary nutrition, especially during a time of hardship and will support the continuance of things such as education.
6. Providing adequate nutrition during a child’s first 1,000 days of life has been proven to be instrumental in the development of a healthy mind and body.
7. Recognize and utilize the power of the individual. The possibility of a global scale effort through social media communication is impossible to imagine. If we can motivate and activate individuals worldwide through the use of the internet, we could have a more cohesive, dedicated force behind the fight against hunger.
8. Having strong influential leaders willing to rally the troops and lead the way to end hunger on a global scale.
9. Donating your time or money to organizations like Stop Hunger Now which packages and ship life-saving meals to all over the world to the poor. 88.5 percent of donations directly fund their meal programs.
10. Educate your friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances. Just because the problem isn’t in our faces, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Ending global hunger is really just a matter of caring enough, and making a concentrated, worldwide effort to do so.

– Drusilla Gibbs

Sources: Revolution Hunger, Stop Hunger Now, World Food Programme, Helping Hands
Photo: Planet Matters and More