Archive for category: Food & Hunger

Information and stories on food.

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5 Facts about Poverty in Yemen

Poverty in Yemen
As one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, Yemen is currently faced with some of the most extreme poverty issues in the world. There are several issues that are unique to Yemen that contribute to this magnitude of poverty, issues that are on track to only get worse unless direct action is taken to mitigate these circumstances. If basic problems, such as lack of access to water, are not properly addressed, other matters, such as sub-par literacy rates, will continue to plague the region and exacerbate poverty in Yemen.

 

Top 5 Facts about Poverty in Yemen

 

1. Yemen’s population stands at 25.4 million and approximately 54% of those people live in poverty.  In other words, 54% of the population survives on fewer than 2 dollars per day.

2. Approximately 45% of the population is malnourished.

3. Life expectancy in Yemen is 64 years old, 14 years younger than the average life expectancy in the United States.

4. Major infectious diseases plaguing the country include Bacterial diarrhea, Typhoid fever, Dengue fever and Malaria, all of which are preventable, curable and in some cases largely unheard of anymore in the western world.

5. There is less than 1 physician for every 1,000 people in Yemen.

 

Major Causes Behind Poverty in Yemen Today

 

  • The dire water shortage: The use of the word ‘dire’ cannot be stressed enough. According to Maplecroft, a global risk analysis organization, Yemen is ranked as the seventh most water-stressed country on the planet. Even though there is a water shortage in Yemen, approximately 90% of the country’s water is put towards its largely ineffective agricultural practices. In Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a, tap water is only available once every four days for its 2 million people. Even worse, in Taiz, a major city in the south, tap water is only available every 20 days. It is estimated that in 10 years, Sana’a will literally run out of water for its citizens.
  • On the brink of famine: In mid-2012, several major humanitarian relief organizations issued a warning that 44% of the population’s food needs are not currently being adequately met. Five million of these malnourished Yemeni citizens require emergency aid and immediate action. The warning cited a surge in food and fuel prices and political instability as the cause behind the number of malnourished people doubling since 2009. Though there is food available in some cases, many Yemenis cannot afford to buy nourishment because they have been displaced from their homes due to conflict.
  • Lingering political instability: Like most of the Middle East, Yemen felt the effects of the Arab Spring in 2011. The initial uprising was centered on protesting high unemployment, economic conditions and government corruption, which included the then president’s plan to alter the constitution to allow the direct transfer of power to his son. Al-Qaeda also has a presence in the region, which further contributes to political instability. For these reasons and many others, the attempt to reach stability within the government and the region is an ongoing process. After significant fighting and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of citizens, a new president was placed in power after running uncontested in an election. The new president is responsible for overseeing the drafting and implementation of a new constitution and further presidential and parliamentary elections in 2014.

– Colleen Eckvahl

 

Sources: BBC: Yemen’s President cedes power, BBC: Yemen on brink of food crisis, Green Profit, Maplecroft, The World Bank

 

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Hunger Games Promotes Hunger Awareness

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This Friday marks the premiere of the second film installment of the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire. While thousands of people will wait in line to see its midnight premiere, the film is more than just a blockbuster.  The film partners with Feed America and the World Food Programme to raise awareness and advocacy for world hunger.

While the films’ website is a favorites spot for fanatics, it also offers an educational aspect, exploring hunger worldwide.  The site specifically targets the younger audience, aiming to educate fans of the film about hunger and poverty. The site features a world map with five interactive factoids and links to both Feed for America’s county-level hunger map, and the World Food Programme’s interactive map of worldwide hunger.  The five hunger facts are as follows:

Fact #1

1 in 5 kids suffers from hunger worldwide.

Fact #2

1 in 6 kids is underweight.

Fact #3

700 billion pounds of food are wasted every year in the U.S.

Fact #4

It costs 25 cents a day to provide a child with proper nutrition

Fact #5

This one is a video factoid. It features the personal impact of Feed for America in rural communities across the country.

Facts 1, 3 and 5 are sponsored by Feeding America and feature links to the organization’s interactive county-by-county hunger map.  The map is the first of its kind to investigate the effects of hunger and poverty at a county level.  Web users are able to explore how the most impoverished counties in America are affected by hunger and learn about Feeding America’s efforts to serve those communities.

Facts 2 and 4 are sponsored by the World Food Programme (WFP) and lead readers to the WFP’s world hunger map. More than 842 million people go hungry every night, and the WFP’s hunger map explores the severity of hunger country by country. The interactive map ranks countries based on prevalence of hunger and offers pertinent demographic information about each country. The site also provides information about WFP’s efforts and accomplishments to reduce hunger in each country.  The map is easy to navigate and clearly communicates the need for hunger advocacy and awareness.

The Hunger Games also sponsors charitable merchandise for sale.  The limited edition “Love Thy Neighbor, Feed Thy Neighbor” fan t-shirt is available for purchase, with all proceeds going towards Feeding America.  The film’s star actress, Jennifer Lawrence, also partners with several charitable organizations.  She has donated to DoSomething.org, Feeding America, the World Food Programme, and the Thirst Program. The film’s website presents a strong message to film fanatics that they must be educated and active against world hunger.

– Mallory Thayer

Sources: Hunger Games, Feeding America, WFP, Look to the Stars
Photo: Forbes

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Typhoon Haiyan Highlights Food Aid Hindrances

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Located in the northwestern Pacific, comprised of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines suffers more storms each year than any other nation in the world.

To date, Typhoon Haiyan is the most catastrophic natural disaster to strike the Philippines. More than 9.7 million people have been affected, with over 3 million of them being displaced due to the storm.

The death toll continues to rise, hitting 3,637 casualties. In a country where poverty and inequality remain a challenge, climatic disasters only thwart the growth of the economy and the citizens.

Typhoon Haiyan destroyed 384,000 acres of rice, corn, and other crops, totaling $105 million worth of damage. These crops are staples in the diets of Filipino culture and countries surrounding them; the damage  is a devastating blow.

With the recent FARM bill heavily under debate in the House and Senate, Congress is in a position to provide the U.S. international food aid program with the flexibility necessary to effectively respond to natural disasters.

Just days after Haiyan struck the Philippines, the USAID’s Office of Food for Peace devoted $7.75 million from the International Disaster Assistance account. These funds will be used to purchase foods for the Philippines and neighboring countries in need.

Currently, 1,100 tons of rice positioned in Sri Lanka are in transit to the distraught area, but are not expected to arrive until December 2. In addition, 55 tons of emergency food products were airlifted from the U.S. to provide aid.

The United States is the top respondent in the world to humanitarian crisis situations around the globe. America’s humanitarianism displays the desire to help others that runs true to core human values.

Yet with food aid come various restrictions that deter not only the process of giving assistance, but the steps to receiving it as well. Food aid restricts the U.S. to only being able to send nutrients that are grown on U.S. soil.

The commodities are then shipped across the ocean; had the U.S. sent rice rather than Sri Lanka, it may have taken 10-12 weeks to arrive. This timeline can be twice as damaging as the storms themselves, considering the starvation and hunger needs that take place immediately after a natural catastrophe.

The argument currently under scrutiny is that it would be much more beneficial to send money; a resource that can be received immediately with limited restrictions.

Although the United States was able to provide financial support, had Typhoon Haiyan taken place at any other time, assistance may not have been available. Due to stipulations on aid, the U.S. may have been limited on cash from responding to crises earlier in the fiscal year.

The U.S. government does not have the flexibility to purchase food resources in any market except its own – a crippling factor that prevents America from being able to reach its full potential of assistance.

Even with the support that has been provided, Typhoon Haiyan has emphasized major errors that exist within food aid. This past spring, President Obama proposed a total reform of food aid. This presidential bid would have forced Congress to consider food aid a foreign aid issue – separating food aid from domestic agricultural issues.

In turn, this would have removed the stipulations that currently surround food aid. President Obama’s proposal was rejected, however, and the FARM bill continues to be ironed out in a special committee in Congress.

– Samaria Garrett
Sources: Common Dreams, Fox News, Brookings

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Recognizing the Legal Right to Food

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Food is necessary to survival and proper nutrition. We all need it. It’s that simple. But despite its importance, access to food is still not universally viewed as a human right. The United Nations (UN) wants to change that.

According to Food Navigator, UN expert Oliver De Schutter believes that the right to food should be legally binding. Human rights currently recognized by the UN include the right to be free from slavery and servitude, the right to be free from cruel and inhuman punishment, the right to freedom of movement between countries, and the right to be recognized as a person. De Schutter wants the right to food added to that list.

De Schutter recently released a report in support of his position, entitled, “Assessing a decade of right to food progress.” In his report, De Schutter states, “Often, we labour under the misconception that the right to food is not like political rights, such as freedom of speech. But economic and social rights — to food, water, housing, social protection — are just as real, just as binding, and can be upheld just as legitimately in court.” South Africa, Kenya, Mexico, and Niger have already included the right to food in their constitutions.

By making the right to food a priority, countries can eventually begin to see long-lasting changes in the political, economic, and environmental sectors, De Schutter suggests. Eventually, these changes can help serve as permanent safeguards against widespread hunger. De Schutter believes countries should revise their laws, incorporating nutrition policies that attempt to take responsibility for the food supply.

India’s recent food policy is an example of how policy changes can help ensure the legal right to food. The north eastern Indian states of Assum, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura are expected to begin implementing the country’s National Food Security Act around the middle of 2014.

According to First Post India, state food ministers have taken the first steps toward the construction of an administration building for the state-run Food Corporation of India. The food law, passed by Parliament last year, will give 67% of the population the right to subsidized food grains. India will need 62 million tons of food grain annually in order to implement its food law.

– Cavarrio Carter

Sources: The Daily Meal, Food Navigator, First Post India, United Nations, Mail Online India
Photo: Web Governments

Africa Hopeful To Be Hunger-Free by 2025

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On Friday, Jose Graziano da Silva, head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency, stated that hunger in Africa can be eradicated by the year 2025. He then added that this can be achieved through the political commitment of all African political leaders and utilization of currently available resources. “We are not talking about sending a man to the moon or something that complicated”, he explained “We have the technology. We have the expertise. We have the things that we need to do it.”

Graziano believes that this goal can be achieved by examining worldwide efforts to alleviate poverty and reach the first United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015. Based on these efforts, Graziano listed three factors that are vital in targeting world hunger.

The first requirement is political will and leadership by leaders of the countries as this effort requires improvement in various aspects including health, nutrition, water supply, etc.

Secondly, Graziano highlighted the importance of agricultural performance and access to food. Statistics show that the world has more than enough food produced to feed the hungry; however, this food isn’t easily accessible and is often wasted. Between one-third and one-half of food produced today is lost or wasted due to improper storage methods, poor transportation and unnecessarily large portions.

The third factor that Graziano cited was the poor nutritional value of much of the food provided to the hungry. He stated that, “you see in families with the lowest income a proportion of obese and malnourished (youngsters) similar to the families that have high level income.”

Graziano and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization hope to see all of the aforementioned factors addressed and innovative solutions invented at the African Union Summit in January of 2014.

– Lienna Feleke-Eshete

Sources: Huffington Post, Food and Agriculture Organization
Photo: Ebru News

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Action Against Hunger Foundation

Action Against Hunger Foundation
Action Against Hunger | ACF International (ACF) is recognized as a leader in the fight against malnutrition. It’s a global humanitarian organization with missions of saving the lives of malnourished children in the world and bringing impoverished communities out of poverty.

ACF integrates activities in emergency nutrition, longer-term food, security, and water, sanitation & hygiene. So far, the organization has run life-saving programs in about 40 countries and benefited around 5 million people annually for 30 years. More than 4,200 professionals work around the world, helping ACF bring solutions to scale to save millions of lives.

Although the programs run by ACF may vary from country to country, they all share the same strategies, which are “context-specific, needs-based and customized through direct community participation.”

ACF is on the frontline and reach out to many destitute communities in the world. For example, in 2012, ACF treated more than 157,000 seriously malnourished individuals and helped 662,000 people reach essential water, sanitation and hygiene solutions in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, South Sudan, D.R. Congo and Pakistan.

In Congo, it trained thousands o health workers, equipped hundreds of hospitals and health centers and provided lifesaving therapeutic care for over 42,000 severely malnourished kids.

In Nigeria, ACF worked with Nigerian government to strengthen the capacity of its health systems and ensure access to nutritional care for children. The number of children treated for malnutrition was also tropled from 12,000 t 36,000.

Also, about 550,000 farmers in the world were provided with tools after drought and displacement in 2012.

ACF, due to its contributions to global poverty, has been named one of the top nonprofits of 2012 by Great Nonprofits reviewers.

– Liying Qian

Sources: ACF International 1, 2, 3

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10 Ways to End Hunger

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There are an estimated 852 million hungry people in the world – an astounding number. However, with some simple ideas, the number of hungry people in the world can easily be reduced.

1. Education

Even if hunger was eradicated right now, it would only be temporarily so if education is not a priority. Educated children are prepared children. A good education equips children to provide for themselves, as well as their communities, in the future. Education ensures that the steps taken in the fight against hunger are sustainable.

2. School meals 

School meal programs are one of the easiest ways to feed lots of children, since the children are all gathered in one place. It is also very cost-effective. For 25 cents per meal, the World Food Program feeds 24 million school children annually.

3. Food security programs

The World Food Program defines food security as “when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” Food security programs aim to meet these needs by training farmers in developing nations through agricultural methods that will provide their communities with food – both now and long-term. The World Food Program reports that it has provided 200,000 farmers with agricultural training since the beginning of its food security programs.

4. Focus on women

It is estimated that women account for 60 percent of the hungry worldwide. If a mother is not able to provide for herself, she will most likely not be able to provide for her children either. This means that hunger is continuously being inherited by children. When women are helped, entire communities are helped.

5. Raise awareness

The simple act of bringing attention to the problem of hunger goes a long way in fighting it. People can’t contribute to a cause they aren’t informed of, and as more people become aware of how hunger affects the poor around the world, more people will engage in the fight against it. It’s that simple.

6. Donate

This is one that tends to be taken for granted. Many people talk about the importance of monetary donations, but relatively few actually donate. This is unfortunate, because donations of any amount can go a long way. There are billions of people in the world that do not suffer from chronic hunger. If all of these people contribute even the tiniest amount that they can afford, hunger will be exponentially closer to being eradicated.

7. Live simply

People in developed nations put so much money towards things they don’t need, while people in the developing world struggle just to get by on a daily basis. Practicing some restraint in spending would free up money that could then be used towards eradicating hunger. This could be as simple as forgoing a cup of coffee each day.

8. Reduce food waste

Excess waste ties up resources that could be used elsewhere in the fight against hunger. It is important for people in developed countries to be mindful of those in developing nations by doing their best to consume only what they need.

9. Be involved in government

Exercise the privileges that come with living in a democratic society in the fight against hunger. Elected officials are in place to represent the voice of the people. If enough people express their concern about global hunger to elected officials, the collective voice cannot be ignored, and action must be taken.

10. Fight for livable wages

It is not enough to simply provide the world’s hungry with food. They must be equipped to provide for themselves. Otherwise, the problem of hunger is not actually solved. Many workers in developing nations are exploited by employers and are not paid nearly enough to provide food for themselves, much less their families. If global hunger is to be defeated, all people must be provided with opportunity to earn livable wages.

– Matt Berg

Sources: YSA, WFPUSA, Huffington Post, World Hunger

Photo: World Food Programme

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Global Food Brands Commemorating World Food Day

World Food Day, celebrated on October 16, was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1979 to encourage activism and campaigns to end world hunger. For the first 30 years of the commemoration of World Food Day, the United States hosted an annual World Food Day Teleconference. This event included renowned experts in a wide range of fields including agriculture, economics, environmental science and human rights, and a global hunger-related theme. This year, the chosen theme is “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition,” and many prominent food and packaging brands, including Dow Chemical Company, Unilever, Beaulieu Vineyard and Nouri, have taken initiative to help ameliorate world hunger.

Dow Chemical Company, the world’s second-largest chemical manufacturer, is investing in packaging practices and materials that allow food to survive its journey better. Diego Donoso, business president of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, stated that his company is “committed to creating innovative technologies in packaging and collaborating with industry partners to minimize food waste and ensure that more food reaches more kitchen tables around the globe.” Dow has also used its website and social media profiles in order to educate the public about sustainable food packaging.

Unilever, a company that owns Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Hellman’s mayonnaise, Lipton tea and Vaseline lotion, is motivating its employees to partake in the fight against world hunger. Unilever’s CEO, Paul Poman, has worked with other companies to raise awareness about sustainable food supply and global hunger. In addition to this effort, Unilever has created a “meal for meal” program that requires Unilever to donate the cost of a meal to the United Nation’s World Food Programme every time an employee buys lunch.

Beaulieu Vineyard, a Napa Valley wine producer, is using its influence to educate poor families about how to maintain a balance between affordable and nutritious food. Beaulieu Vineyard is hosting a “Give & Give Back Chef Challenge” in which renowned chefs compete to create nutritious and affordable meals with basic ingredients. This contest aims to raise awareness about world hunger and teach needy families how to best use the resources they have. Beaulieu has also partnered with food donation organizations to donate food to families in need.

The efforts made by these food packaging and producing companies give everyday individuals an alternative opportunity to get involved in the fight against global poverty. Companies like Unilever and Dow also educated individuals about the importance of food sustainability. Without methods of maintaining the freshness of donated food, many poor families will become susceptible to food-borne illnesses.

– Lienna Feleke-Eshete

Sources: Food Production Daily, Dow Chemical Company

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Haiti’s Hunger Crisis

Haiti Hunger Crisis Earthquake Reconstruction
Last June, when reports abounded of the chronic hunger and food insecurity crisis that was ravaging Haiti, the world learned that 1.5 million people were in need of food assistance in the struggling nation, while another 6.7 million people were failing to meet their food needs on a regular basis.

Soon, images of broomstick-thin children with distended stomachs crossed the globe, while international donors and NGOs pledged additional donor dollars to the nation that was devastated by an earthquake in 2010. Despite the international assistance, a staggering 67 percent of the population still has limited access to food, according to the government’s National Coordination of Food Security.

Much of the crisis stems from extreme weather conditions such as floods and droughts which destroyed key crops last year. Worse still, scientists predict that more natural disasters are on their way due to climate change.

Klaus Eberwein, general director of the government’s Economic and Social Assistance Fund believes that the current hunger crisis is due to “decades of bad political decisions,” last year’s storms and drought, and the fact that hunger is not new to Haiti.

The country’s food insecurity issues also have to do with the fact that 80 percent of Haiti’s rice and half of all its food is imported now. With so much depending on imports, meals are becoming harder to obtain on a minimum wage, which is about $4.54 a day.

To make matters worse, Haiti has lost almost all of its forest as poor Haitians continue to chop down trees to make charcoal. Consequently, the loss of trees does not help to contain heavy rainfall or to yield crop-producing soil.

One of the organizations that continues to help stem the widespread hunger is USAID, which has provided over $38 million for emergency and development food assistance in Haiti. This past month, the organization launched a four-year food security program to improve nutrition and access to locally produced foods for the most vulnerable households in Haiti. The project, the Kore Lavi Program, is part of the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiatives Feed the Future and Title II.

The program supports the Haitian government in establishing a voucher-based safety-net system to increase poor household’s access to food and prevent malnutrition in children under 2 years of age. It is expected to reach 250,000 households by providing food vouchers, improving maternal and child health and nutrition knowledge, strengthening links between households and health systems, and improving the quality of health and nutrition services. Additionally, it aims to develop a national database system within the Government of Haiti’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor to target vulnerable households.

The goal is to change the harsh reality of the statistic that two in three Haitians currently face hunger as the country’s woes continue to mount.

– Nayomi Chibana
Feature Writer

Sources: USAID AP
Photo: TIME

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Child Poverty in Africa

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The state of many developing countries in Africa is no secret. Africa has been deadlocked in extreme poverty for an extended period of time. However, recent trends have shown that the poverty situation worldwide is slowly improving. Despite these various improvements, much more can be accomplished in the poverty-stricken continent of Africa. African children in particular are still mired in terrible situations, causing quite a predicament. While every life is worth saving in Africa, the lives of the children are crucial to the future of developing countries.

The issues have abundantly mounted to oppose healthy children in Africa. Lack of suitable food plays a major role. The world in general produces enough food to feed these children, yet they have no access to a consistent food supply. The key to eradicating the hunger crisis is providing an outlet for starving people in Africa and other poverty-stricken locations worldwide.

However, food is not the only major problem for African children. Other issues, such as slavery, armed forces participation, and the inability to prevent disease all stake a claim to the death toll of African children.

Learn more about poverty in Africa.

An estimated 200,000 children are sold into slavery yearly in Africa. This has become a major problem for developing countries–how can a country grow and learn if the children are routinely captured and used as slaves? Without any children learning and growing in a safe environment, the developing countries do not have much hope for a productive future, instead they are mired in the darkness that child slavery provides.

Not only is child slavery a major issue but children being forced to participate in the armed forces also causes another dilemma. An estimated 12,000 children are participating in the armed forces, further halting the advancement of African economies. The children are being trained and deployed in military situations instead of learning and cultivating the land, leaving fewer able bodies and even fewer educated people to grow and produce for their country.

Child participation in armed forces and slavery are major hindrances to furthering child development. However, the problem of disease also runs rampant among the children. Measles, malaria, and diarrhea are the three biggest killers of children, yet all three are preventable or treatable. Children lack access to proper treatments and vaccinations, resulting in deaths that could have been prevented. If these children could be immunized or properly treated, the number of deaths would exponentially drop.

The high mortality rate of children in Africa plays a significant role in the African poverty situation. The deaths related to child slavery, child participation in armed forces, and treatable diseases can be reversed. These problems can be solved; they require continued aid from outside help, but also a stand to fight for the lives of children. Without growing children, there is no growth for the future.

– Zachary Wright

Sources: CARE, Fight Poverty Pravda, Pravda
Photo: The Telegraph