Archive for category: Food & Hunger

Information and stories on food.

Vietnamese Fishermen Clash with China

The South China Sea has been a topic of debate within the international community for months now, with Vietnam and China struggling to come to a consensus regarding sovereignty. Both countries claim sovereignty over the Paracel Islands and when the China National Offshore Oil Corporation placed its first oilrig just 130 nautical miles off of the Vietnamese coast in the beginning of May, tensions rose between the two governments.

However, this is far beyond a political and legal dispute. In the midst of this conflict, fishermen who use this sea area as their usual fishing grounds are struggling to get by. For example, the Chinese authorities instituted a ban from April to August, which marks the “high season” for Vietnamese fishermen, who refer to this area as the “East Sea.”

Since there is no regional authority in this particular sea area, Professor Erik Franckx, a sea law expert, noted that the Chinese have a right to impose a ban on Chinese fishermen, but not fishermen from other countries.

Although there is often conflict in the South China Sea between Vietnamese and Chinese fishermen, many fishermen have reported to the press that if there is any technical trouble or a boat is in any danger, they help each other. It is healthy competition. However, with the new political conflict between the governments, tensions are rising at sea.

For example, there have been cases of Vietnamese fishing boats being hit by Chinese fishermen. Huynh Thi Nhu Hoa, the owner of a fishing company reported that their boat was hit by a Chinese vessel and sank about 16 nautical miles from the oilrig. This caused all of the fishermen on the boat to lose their jobs in the meantime.

The ban that China has placed is seriously affecting the Vietnamese fishing industry as noted by Tran Van Linh, the chairman of Da Nag’s Fishery Association. He explained that “the oil rig is seriously affecting [their] fishing industry because its placement denies [their] fishermen access to” the area surrounding the Paracel Islands where the catch is much more plentiful.

Apart from the difficulties Vietnamese fishermen face with the ban, boats have also been confiscated. The Da Nang Fishery Association also lost 15 boats due to confiscation by the Chinese authorities in the last year.

Although efforts have been made between the governments, there are no signs of near future progress. The talk held on June 18 between Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh proved unsuccessful, demonstrating the strong stance both countries are taking on the matter.

Matters only seem to worsen, as in early July Chinese authorities arrested six Vietnamese fishermen caught in “Chinese waters.” Occurrences such as these have caused violent protests in Vietnam, as citizens are worried about the condition of their fishing industry. Recent protests have left at least two dead and numerous factories burnt to the ground.

As the situation progresses, other nearby countries are getting involved as well. The Philippines is outraged at the situation and has taken measures to take China to a United Nations tribunal.

Although political resolutions are vital, it is clear due to recent occurrences that progress is imperative for the sake of the safety and prosperity of Vietnamese fishermen who require access to the South China or the East Sea.

– Cambria Arvizo

Sources: ABC Local, BBC News Asia, Aljazeera
Photo: Dreams Time

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Hunger & Agriculture in Togo

agriculture in togo
The Togolese republic, a strip of land east of Ghana and west of Benin, has a population of 7.3 million. People there are of 37 different tribes. Most speak Ewe or Mina, though a history of French colonialism makes French the official language and the language of commence.

Since declaring independence from France in 1960, Togo has gradually transitioned to democracy. Historically powerful political parties have proved a great challenge — they are reluctant to let go. Human rights abuses (especially within prisons,) capital punishment and a corrupt police force are widely reported.

Still, under the leadership of President Faure Gnassingbe, arbitrary arrest and political persecution have subsided. His own election (2007) and reelection (2010) were considered credible by international observers.

The Togolese economy relies heavily on commercial agriculture. Cocoa, coffee and cotton make up about 40 percent of revenue on exported goods and employ much of the population. Nearly 65 percent of the labor force works in agriculture. Subsistence farming is relied upon by many Togolese, 58.7 percent of whom live below the poverty line.

Despite the dominance of agriculture in Togo many still suffer severe hunger. In 2006, almost half the population was underfed. In 2010, 16.5 percent of children under the age of 5 were underweight. Trading Economics reports that undernourished people in Togo have a deficit of nearly 280 kilocalories daily. Why?

The success of a harvest depends on much. In 2007, northern floods destroyed crops and livestock. Malnutrition in the region, among Togo’s poorest, increased significantly. The south was hit the next year with rain that inundated fields and washed away roads. Good weather in Togo is as vital as it is unreliable.

Then there’s the fact that crops need to be planted, and seeds are in short supply. As a whole, Togo has struggled to support a rapidly growing population with increased food production. It has become difficult for rural farmers to access both fertilizers and grains in time for planting.

Fortunately, there has been some, if not extraordinary, international aid in Togo. The World Bank, the United Nations and the World Food Programme all maintain a presence there. Most remarkable, though, is the attitude of the Togolese government. In 2012, President Gnassingbe announced a 1 billion dollar food security investment plan. Ideally, agricultural imports will be reduced while agricultural techniques and conservations expedite production.

The goal is ambitious, but Togo has the capacity for self-sufficiency and a government that cares enough to try for it.

– Olivia Kostreva

Sources: Africa Review, Trading Economics, U.S. Department of State, CIA
Photo: The Guardian

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Hunger in Senegal

Summers are hungry times for the poor of Senegal, who must endure an annual “lean season,” lasting from June to September. Food insecurity caused by fluctuating food prices and unpredictable cereal harvests can leave hundreds of thousands of Senegalese malnourished and ill. Though Senegal’s economy relies mainly on the success of its agricultural sector – nearly 80 percent of the country’s people are employed in the industry, that success does not always translate to adequate nourishment for its 13 million people.

This year, underwhelming crop outputs are largely to blame for the food shortage Senegal is currently facing. Cereal harvests typically produce 20 percent more food than they have this year. As an added effect, the lean season started even earlier than usual this year, extending the period of chronic food insecurity for over half a million people.

Hunger has the power not only to kill and make ill, but also to disrupt families and throw individuals further into poverty. In Senegal, men often leave rural areas to seek food or employment in urban centers, forcing women to bear the burden of childcare at home. Many women, failing to obtain adequate food and water supplies for their families, resort to selling many of their possessions to make ends meet. Still, that is often not enough.

What’s the good news? Senegal is one of the most stable countries in Africa and has been since its independence from France in 1960. That makes it much easier for humanitarian agencies to work with the Senegalese government to implement effective aid programs. Currently, the World Food Programme of the United Nations is collaborating with Senegal to bring food to 675,000 of its people during the lean season.

The food aid strategy Senegal employs is based on a voucher system, in which households receive a monthly voucher they can use to feed their families. The program is very popular among the Senegalese people; one voucher recipient noted that, “from today forward, I will be able to feed my children, prepare rice the way I like it, and also save money to pay back my debts.”

With successful, targeted food aid programs like World Food Programme’s, the people of Senegal may be able to weather what is already the worst lean season of the last five years. Additional foreign aid aimed at Senegal would only extend that effect to even more people.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: World Food Programme, The Hunger Project, Action Against Hunger
Photo: Global Post

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Somali Food Crisis to Intensify

The United States government recently acknowledged the presence of over 100 military advisors who have been secretly operating in Somalia since 2007. While they are not engaged in combat missions, they have routinely assisted the Somali government by providing their tactical expertise in the Somali effort to combat Islamist militants. Those militants comprise al Shabaab, the al Qaeda-linked terrorist organization which most notably claimed responsibility for the September 2013 attack on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya which resulted in 67 deaths.

The African Union Mission in Somalia currently has 22,000 troops stationed in Somalia from various African countries and the United States has stated its intent to aid soldiers of the Somali National Army. However, Somalia is far from a stable country. On July 8 al Shabaab militants attacked Somali’s presidential palace in Mogadishu. They used a car bomb to blast open the gates and then proceeded onto the grounds. Their attack was eventually thwarted by Somali and AMISOM troops but the threat of violence in the nation’s capital still looms.

Despite the various armed conflicts taking place throughout the country, Somalia is faced with another pressing issue: the Somali food crisis. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently disclosed the possibility of a worsening food crisis in Somalia. This crisis would be the result of a predicted water shortage following a lackluster rain season earlier this year, rising food prices in urban areas and dwindling humanitarian assistance in the country.

The food agency also acknowledged the presence of acute malnutrition in Mogadishu which requires intensified humanitarian aid over the coming months. The displaced populace in areas like Mogadishu where armed violence has become regular has served to exacerbate the food crisis. While it is clear that the Somali government is finally receiving the military aid it needs, the food aid it also requires has not yet occurred.

— Taylor Dow

Sources: HORSEED Media, Daily Times, Fox news, CNN, Reuters
Photo: World Vision

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Distraction & Development at AU Summit

On the eve of the 23rd Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, a bomb exploded in an Abuja shopping center, killing 21 and wounding 52. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan returned early from the AU session–held in Equatorial Guinea–in order to address the attack, which comes at a time of great violence for Africa’s most highly populated country. Unfortunately the attack also reinforces the need to confront the security issues of AU nations, which has become the unofficial second theme of the summit.

The attack came only as the first major drama that forced delegates to stray from the official theme, “Year of Agriculture and Food Security.” Experts believe the agricultural sector in Africa could end extreme poverty on the continent within one generation, but not without modernization.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reaffirmed UN support for the AU objectives, stating, “We will assist in ensuring universal education, achieving gender equality and empowering women. We will help advance respect for human rights… We are doing all of this as part of our overall efforts to achieve sustainable development.”

In spite of any such intentions, the AU summit exposed seemingly endless controversy. Beginning with the host country, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema spoke to the former Spanish colony’s desire to restructure its relationship with the West in order to foster development, calling the current relationship “…a neo-colonial system which perpetuates the old colonial one… Africa should renegotiate relations with [the] developed world.” Yet having seized control over three decades ago, Nguema paid a hefty sum to host what critics have deemed an opportunity to showcase his €580 million Sipopo Conference Center whilst concealing the grave inequality in a country ruled by an oil-rich elite.

Nguema has also severely restricted freedom of speech for Equatorial Guinea’s small population, especially in terms of criticism. Furthermore, the President’s son and potential successor now holds government posts that have been investigated for money laundering abroad; the government official status protects him from prosecution.

Certain summit guests have triggered debate. The International Criminal Court’s indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir limits potential summit locations to non-signatory countries. Equatorial Guinea also invited Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose visit has reignited old tensions.

Even more awkward was the early exit of an invited group of American Jews who left the meeting after certain African delegations refused to proceed with their presence. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki then spoke at the inaugural session with harsh words for the state of Israel.

Amid the turmoil, delegates were able to adopt a budget for the 2015 year of over $520 million–still far less than the cost of the building in which they negotiated their draft. The body tabled the popular version of Agenda 2063, a plan to gear Africa toward sustainable development over the next 50 years. The AU seeks increased grass-root participation in the creation of the Agenda, and has urged national governments to raise awareness among their citizens.

The leaders will meet again for the 24th Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2015. Perhaps next year the AU will be better prepared to focus on the theme “Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063.”

– Erica Lignell

Sources: All Africa, All Africa 2, BBC, Reuters, Human Rights Watch, UN, EIN News Desk, African Union Commission Facebook
Photo: African Union

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Winning the Battle Against Hunger

By the end of 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recognized 38 countries that were able to reduce by half the proportion of people suffering from hunger. The result meets the objective for the first U.N. Millennium Development Goal. In 2014, more nations continue to successfully reach the goal.

On 16 June 2014, the FAO recognized China, Morocco and Chile for their exceptional efforts in the fight against global hunger and for achieving the first U.N. Millennium Development Goal, bringing the total number of nations to 40.

China has made significant strides. In 1990 – 92, 272.1 million people suffered from hunger; today that number has been reduced to 158.0 million. The progress accomplished by the Chinese is even more remarkable when looking further back into the nation’s history. In 1979, more than one third of the people in China were hungry and that number has declined to less than 10 percent, which is lower than in the United States. And the country has moved from a recipient of aid to a major global aid donor.

Morocco was also congratulated and formally acknowledged by the FAO for its hunger reducing policies. Impressively, undernourishment in the country dropped from 6.7 percent in 1990-92 to under 5 percent in 2011-13.

The FAO recognized Chile as well. Chile had already achieved the first Millennium Development Goal in 2013. The FAO awarded Chile with a diploma for achieving the 1996 World Food Summit target, which is a more challenging goal to achieve. The 1996 target stipulates that a country decrease the number of hungry people by half in 2015 as compared to the level in 1990. Chile was able to attain this by decreasing undernourishment in the population from 9 percent in 1990-92 to less than 5 percent in 2011-13.

Of the first 38 countries that reached the U.N. goal in 2013, currently 18 have also achieved the World Food Summit target.

The success of these three nations and the other 37 countries demonstrates how governments across the world are taking effective steps to fight hunger and are achieving tangible results. While the task of eliminating hunger may appear daunting, the FAO emphasizes the fact that the goal can be accomplished and that these nations are models for achieving it.

During the ceremony, the FAO also recognized regional movements that have formed to meet the U.N. Zero Hunger Challenge, which seeks to completely eradicate hunger. The organization expressed its support for the 2025 Latin American and Caribbean Hunger-Free Initiative and the African Union’s endorsement of the zero hunger goal for 2025.

While these achievements are pivotal, the FAO continues to stress the need for a continued global effort to reduce hunger. Despite the progress made, more than 840 million people go hungry everyday.

In order to engage continued commitment to fighting hunger and specifically ending malnutrition, the FAO and the U.N. World Health Organization, WHO, are organizing a global governmental meeting, titled the Second International Conference on Nutrition, which is scheduled for November 2014.

-Kathleen Egan

Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, China.org.cn, Africa Top Success
Photo: China.org.cn

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What Do We Really Know About Our Food?

food
The average person makes approximately 200 food-related decision per day. This statistic makes it seem as though food is one of the few things over which we have control. Or do we? While the choice is entirely up to each individual, do we always have all the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision?

Socially learning which foods are poisonous and which are nutritious was a crucial evolutionary step. But in the era of the grocery store, information about food is abundant and often confusing. What is more, food information provided by labels, the media or even so-called independent reviewers usually comes with ulterior motives.

According to Public Health Perspectives blogger, Beth Skwarecki, the concept of nutrition can be manipulated for marketing purposes or to even create a fear fad. Take, for example, the controversial topic of genetically modified organisms. There is so much information both against and for it that most of the information is more confusing than informative to consumers.

As a teacher of nutrition at a community college, Skwarecki says that it is important for people to develop their “baloney detectors.” Once you understand the science behind each topic, it is much easier to make an informed decision.

This method might work in developed countries, but what about people in poor countries? Residents of the industrialized world have better access to information, so that if someone takes the time to research the issue, he or she can make better food choices. But what about people in developing nations that depend on foreign aid to cover their most basic nutritional needs?

Low income and food insecure people are the most vulnerable to lack of nutrition. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, while substantial progress has been made over the last decade in agricultural practices, progress in nutrition and health of poor farmers and consumers in developing countries is still slow.

One of the strategies proposed is to increase access to nutritional food. However, this also means implementing educational programs that would allow people to understand where their food comes from, and where to find the most added-value nutrition.

So whether it is for people in advanced nations or in the developing world, one of the most important elements to nutrition is having access to correct information. In the end, this comes back to the most basic notion of having a say in what we eat, and how we allow the content of our food to impact our lives.

-Sahar Abi Hassan

Sources: Public Health Perspectives, International Food Policy Research Institute
Photo: The World Bank

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mDiabetes for a Healthy Ramadan

As many Senegalese begin celebrating Ramadan, those with diabetes must be particularly careful fasting and feasting because it can trigger complications, and put their health at risk.

Every year during Ramadan in Senegal, there is a spike in those needing urgent hospitalization due to uncontrolled diabetes. To help solve this problem is mDiabetes, a free service that sends text messages to mobile phones before, during and after the month of Ramadan to give those with diabetes tips and tricks to fasting safely.

Text messages include advice such as,

“Drink one liter of water every morning before you begin fasting.”

“Take care to not overeat and watch out for foods high in sugar such as dates.”

“Ask your doctor to adapt the dose and timing of your diabetes medication before you fast.”

Simple texts like these will help the thousands of people living in Senegal with diabetes, which has increased in the past decade due to rapid urbanization. Obesity in young people has escalated drastically, putting them at risk for type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that four to six percent of the Senegalese population are living with diabetes, at least 400,000 people, yet only 60,000 have been diagnosed.

Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that many are unaware that they even have diabetes since they do not know the causes or symptoms. This is particularly common in rural areas where access to health services is limited.

mDiabetes is part of a campaign by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) called, “Be He@lthy Be Mobile.” Through the use of technology such as text messages and apps, they can “control, prevent, and manage non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.”

Similar programs have been implemented in other countries such as the mCessation program in Costa Rica for tobacco, mCervical cancer program in Zambia and others like mHypoertension and mWellness have been planned for the future.

Eighty-three percent of the Senegalese population have mobile telephones, and 40 percent of those have smart phones, capable of receiving pictures and videos. Utilizing this technology that is becoming increasingly more prevalent in the daily lives of those around the world, is effective way to educate thousands, at no cost to the public.

Thanks to mDiabetes, this Ramadan thousands of Senegalese will be able to fully practice their faith without risking their health.

— Kim Tierney

Sources: World Health Organization, Diabetes and Ramadan International Alliance
Photo: Hong Kiat

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10 World Hunger Statistics


Hunger is a living, breathing thing that seems to be consuming the world one impoverished nation at a time. The numbers keep fluctuating and more of the world falls into malnutrition. Here are 10 world hunger statistics to raise awareness about people struggling with hunger.

1. On a regular basis, 842 million people in the world do not get enough to eat.

While the number of people struggling with hunger has fallen by 17% since 1990, the percentage of people who are hungry has grown by 7% since 2009.

2. The majority of hungry and impoverished peoples live in developing nations.

Nearly 15% of the people in developing nations can be malnourished, while 7% of the people in first world nations and developed countries go hungry.

3. Asia has the most hungry people.

More than 500,000 people in Asian countries are malnourished; half of these people are children under the age of five.

4. Africa had the highest prevalence of hungry people.

Nearly 30% of people in Africa suffer from extreme hunger, meaning more of their population is hungry in comparison to the rest of the world.

5. First world countries spend more on pet food than they do helping the hungry.

Today alone in America and the UK, people have spent 44 million dollars on pet food and only five million on aiding people who are starving.

6. Americans wasted 124,000 tons of food today alone.

Each day Americans can waste up to 150,000 tons of food by throwing it away. Every year Americans alone have the potential to waste well over 1.8 million tons of food.

7. Five million people died of hunger this year.

This year so far, well over five million people have died of starvation or malnutrition. More than half of these deaths were children.

8. One in every 15 children dies from hunger in developing countries.

Children often face the worst parts of starvation or malnutrition. More children will die of starvation than adults each year.

9. Due to hunger, 315,000 women die in childbirth each year.

Women who do not get enough nutrients, most specifically iron, in their diets during pregnancy are at a greater risk of dying in childbirth from hemorrhaging. It is not uncommon for women, even women with child, to be forced to give up nutrient-heavy foods in lieu of their male counterparts.

10. More than half of people suffering from hunger in the world are in Asia and the South Pacific.

Roughly 63% of all the people suffering from starvation and malnutrition can be found in Asia and the South Pacific. This means more people are suffering in these two areas than there is anywhere else in the world.

While starvation is preventable, millions of people will still die each year from not having enough food or enough nutrients to survive. Isn’t it time you did something?

– Cara Morgan

Sources: Do Something, Stop the Hunger, World Hunger, World Food Programme
Photo: Flanboyant Eats

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WhyHunger Mobilizes Artists to Fight Hunger

“Grassroots” is a favorite term of WhyHunger, a New York-based nonprofit addressing hunger and poverty in the United States, and worldwide. The organization supports over 8,000 community-based projects that are helping to create “a just food system that provides universal access to nutritious and affordable food.”

WhyHunger was founded in 1975 by musicians Harry Chapin and Bill Ayres in response to rampant hunger in Africa, and elsewhere. The friends decided that their new charity would need to go beyond providing emergency food aid if it were to create a just and sustainable food system. Chapin and Ayres became dedicated to digging deep to the roots of poverty in order to find long-term solutions to the global problem of hunger.

In an open letter, co-founder and current Executive Director Bill Ayres defines WhyHunger’s global mission as “[helping] people to help themselves through food production, job-training programs, nutrition education, community economic development, healthcare, youth programming, leadership development and more.”

WhyHunger brings much-needed publicity and funding to small, community-based organizations that are working hard to chip away at hunger in their communities. This feat is accomplished through WhyHunger’s various programs, including Artists Against Hunger & Poverty.

AAH&P partners with accomplished and rising musical artists to raise funds for outstanding local projects that are fighting hunger. So far, the campaign has funneled close to 10 million dollars into grassroots initiatives.

Some of the artists involved with AAH&P and WhyHunger include Bruce Springsteen, Carlos Santana, Chicago, Brandi Carlile and O.A.R., among many others. WhyHunger connects the management of the different artists to organizations that focus on hunger and poverty in towns near their tour stops. The artists then set aside time during their concerts to speak about the different nonprofits, and to collect donations. Typically the organizations are given the best tickets in the house to auction off, and the artists generally donate to the cause, as well.

“I’ve always said that working with WhyHunger is the perfect antidote to dealing with the whims and challenges of the music industry,” says Jen Chapin, an artist-supporter and longtime board member of WhyHunger. “In the food justice movement, you always get to interact with inspired and intelligent people who are driven by a sense of mission, which is — ahem — not always the case in the music biz.”

Artists Against Hunger & Poverty is a strategic program that utilizes the existing charisma surrounding musical artists to draw in fans and mobilize support for small-scale nonprofits that would otherwise not have access to such large audiences.

WhyHunger has received a four-star rating on Charity Navigator. The nonprofit places a great emphasis on keeping profits at the grassroots level, in community-based nonprofits that are helping eradicate hunger and poverty, person-by-person.

-Kayla Strickland

Sources: WhyHunger, American Songwriter, Charity Navigator, AAH&P
Photo: WhyHunger Twitter