Archive for category: Hunger

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How to Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

how to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Poverty is like a cancer for society — it is debilitating and does not have a cure-all solution. People in extreme poverty live on less than $1.90 a day and face poverty traps due to factors such as geographic location, malnutrition, effort required to meet daily needs, lack of education and poor governance. With so many ways for people to become poor, it’s not surprising that different regions need to focus on different issues when determining how to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

Poverty Eradication Across the Globe

According to the 2017 World Bank Annual Report, Europe and Central Asia focused 41 percent of the $5.3 billion they borrowed from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as well as the International Development Association on energy and extractives but only two percent on education.

In contrast, South Asia concentrated 14 percent of the $6.1 billion they borrowed on energy and extractives, and 12 percent on education. Despite such disparities between these two countries’ prioritization of their energy and education sectors, both areas took action to build resilience to climate change, invest in human capital and improve infrastructure.

Benefits of Migration

For poor households trapped by low-productivity and in oftentimes remote, rural locations, migration could be a viable solution to increasing their standard of living. Such families may not be willing to migrate because it would put their sources of subsistence at risk. However, there are large potential gains from migrating to a highly productive country like the U.S.

According to a study by Clemens, Montenegro and Pritchett in 2016, the annual gain from working in a high-productivity environment is more than four times the total lifetime value of the most successful anti-poverty program.

Cash Transfer Solutions

On the policy side, well-targeted and structured cash transfers have been an increasingly popular tool for alleviating poverty in low-income countries. Cash transfers not only provide safety nets by raising the incomes of the poor, but they also help them escape from ‘psychological poverty traps.’

Contrary to the common concern that welfare programs can discourage work, a study done by Banerjee et al. in 2016 found no systematic evidence that cash transfer programs affect the overall number of hours worked nor the propensity to work among the men and women in the seven programs carried out in the Honduras, Indonesia, Morocco, Mexico (which had two programs), Nicaragua and the Philippines.

There are also solutions that require the consideration of measuring poverty based on other factors besides income and consumption. One example would be the offshoring of low-skilled jobs. While these jobs do provide a steady source of income, they are often also unpleasant, risky and may lead to adverse health effects. So, although these jobs can provide a short-term safety net, they are not a long-term solution to poverty.

Small Changes, Big Outcomes

Specific strategy government programs that have lasting effects countering poverty involve multifaceted household-level interventions. In one study by Banerjee et al., implementation of an anti-poverty program at the household level in India, Ethiopia and Pakistan (as well as both the village and household level in Ghana, Honduras and Peru) led to at least a year’s worth of lasting impact after the short-term intervention of the program.

Statistically significant impacts were made in the areas of consumption, food security, productive and household assets, financial inclusion, time use, income and revenues, physical health, mental health, political involvement and women’s empowerment. The intervention consisted of six elements: a productive asset grant, temporary cash consumption support, technical skills training, high frequency home visits, a savings program and health education and services.

Pros and Cons of Policy Change

On the other hand, governments also need to be careful when deciding on policies that involve low-income countries. Bill Clinton admitted in 2010 that his policy to dump American tariff-free rice in Haiti was a mistake. By forcing Haiti to drop tariffs on imported subsidized U.S. rice, the damage done to rice farming severely hindered Haiti’s ability to be self-sufficient.

In response to the incident, Oxfam recommended that food aid should be bought in local markets inside the country receiving aid.

Oxfam also said the Haitian government should decentralise services away from the capital, make sure farmers have credit access and improve their land tenure system where farmers could be cheated by judges able to transfer land into the hands of ‘whoever offers the biggest bribe.’

Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger

The same goes for humanitarian organizations in deciding what kinds of resources and assistance to provide. To answer the question of how to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, these organizations need to first determine what consequences their intervention would lead to. By looking for methods to complement local capacities to combat poverty, humanitarians can prevent their efforts from displacing local businesses.

A great example is The Hunger Project — a global nonprofit organization dedicated to ending world hunger. With programs throughout Africa, South Asia and Latin America, this organization empowers women and men in rural villages to sustainably overcome hunger and poverty. Members of the community accomplish this feat by mobilizing and fostering effective partnerships to engage local government.

In conclusion, there are many factors to consider in different parts of the world when looking at how to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Auspicious solutions to poverty traps include migration, conditional cash transfers and multifaceted household-level programs. On the side of humanitarian organizations and the government, much deliberation is essential to providing goods, services and policies that complement and protect rather than displace local needs and markets.

– Connie Loo
Photo: Flickr

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The History of Poverty in Ireland

The History of Poverty in IrelandIreland’s political and religious history has had a great effect on the country’s history of poverty, which has continued throughout many centuries. There are still neglected political policies that cause great poverty today.

Early History of Poverty in Ireland

The history of poverty in Ireland began with the invasion by Great Britain in 1649. Oliver Cromwell governed Great Britain at that time, and he despised Roman Catholicism. He felt that the predominantly Catholic Irish people could not be trusted and sought to bring them to order. Cromwell executed those that would not comply and exported children to sugar plantations in the West Indies, hoping to decrease the population of the Irish. This population loss allowed Great Britain to gain control over Ireland.

In the 18th century, Ireland’s farmland became the property of English landlords. The landlords were not present to work the farms and only collected rent. The landlords would force multiple families to live on one piece of property to charge more rent. This overcrowding resulted in hunger, as the crop yields could not sustain multiple families and still provide income for rent. Those who could not pay were evicted and had nowhere to go.

Potato Famine a Major Cause of Poverty

The main crop produced on the farmlands was a staple of the Irish diet, the potato. However, potatoes are susceptible to disease, even though the crop needs little maintenance. This was the cause of the Great Potato Famine that began in 1845. The famine was caused by the water mold disease known as late blight, which resulted in crop failure three years in a row. This drove families further into poverty. There were many families that were unable to pay rent or feed their children. The Great Potato Famine was one of the most significant events in the history of poverty in Ireland. The famine caused more than one million deaths and reduced the population by nearly half.

Even though Great Britain impacted the history of poverty in Ireland by taking control of the farmland when the Great Famine was devastating Irish families, the government refused to intervene and provide help to Irish families. Charities and soup kitchens had limited resources to help those suffering from starvation. Those who did not perish from starvation or disease were forced to immigrate to other countries.

Poverty Issues Still Present Today

This history of poverty in Ireland has seemed to carry over to the present day. In 2010, it was estimated that 6 percent of the population is living below the poverty line and approximately 15 percent of people are at risk of falling below the poverty line. The poverty line is measured by the average income and anyone that makes less than 60 percent of the average income is considered to be living in poverty.

Advocacy group Social Justice Ireland (SJI) has studied the history of poverty in Ireland and seeks to correct the ongoing issue. SJI reports that more than 100,000 people with employment are still living below the poverty line. In addition, SJI has stated that to avoid poverty, a single adult must make an estimated €250 a week and a family of four must bring home approximately €579 a week to be over the poverty line. The difficulties that the working poor face in reaching these income levels are attributed to low pay that is not fairly regulated, either by employers or the government.

Another factor that causes the population to be employed and still below the poverty line is an unfair tax system that has always been a part of the history of poverty in Ireland. SJI strongly urges the government to take charge and break this ongoing cycle of poverty for the Irish people.

– Kristen Hibbett
Photo: Flickr

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Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Syria

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in SyriaThe crisis in Syria began in the March of 2011 when thousands of Syrians took to the streets protesting for a democratic government. Since then, there have been reports of horrific human rights violations. Syrians are either forced to live in fear or flee their country. Due to the political unrest and unfair treatment of Syrians, basic humanitarian needs such as food is not fulfilled. Hunger has increased dramatically in Syria and it is important for other nations to know the facts about hunger in Syria and realize the struggles and successes it experiences as a result of the hunger crisis.

Facts About Hunger in Syria

  1. One in three people is unable to meet their basic food needs because they live under the poverty line.
    Bread is the most basic food source in Syria, however, its prices have risen by 1000 percent in the most violent areas leaving thousands unable to provide for themselves or their families.
  2. Food production has decreased by 50 percent.
    Farmers were only able to plant wheat on an estimated 900,000 hectares of land in 2017 compared to 1.5 million hectares before 2011. This is a neverending cycle because farmers rely on the community to buy their produce in order to continue farming but when the community does not have money to buy food, there is a continuing lack thereof.
  3. More than 11 million Syrians have fled their homes seeking refuge.
    Constant displacement does not provide Syrians with food security. Being food secure is one of the most basic necessities but also somehow overlooked.
  4. Living under siege, 400,000 Syrians across Syria have little to no access to a food source.
    During a siege, all humanitarian resources are cut off from people thereby leaving them with no option but to starve to death or die of diseases without proper medical attention.
  5. Various food donation groups have been able to provide for certain besieged areas via airdrops.
    Although there are still more than 4.5 million people living in hard-to-reach zones throughout Syria, airdrops have been able to deliver food to approximately 4.2 million of those in need.
  6. The U.N. will need $ 3.2 billion to provide humanitarian assistance in Syria.
    After analyzing the number of refugees in need of humanitarian assistance in 2016, the U.N. was able to estimate the funds required to help the current refugees. However, this does not account for new refugees if the conflict continues.
  7. The rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has made it difficult to provide resources to Syrians.
    This group has created checkpoints and sealed off all roads into and out of besieged areas to prevent any aid from reaching the people located within.
  8. Before the crisis in 2011, Syria was a middle-income country; however, it now ranks as one of the poorest with one-third of the population living in poverty.
    This does not include refugees who sought shelter in neighboring countries but merely the remaining population living in Syria.
  9. Since the beginning of the Syrian war crisis, the World Food Programme (WFP) has donated more than $ 1.3 billion to support Syrian refugees.
    They do this by providing food rations, e-cards and vouchers to the Syrians who are in dire need of food and medical resources.
  10. For only one dollar, the WFP can feed a Syrian refugee for a day.
    When the cost of feeding refugees is so low, it is a wonder how we are still struggling to find ways to help them. This accentuates the necessity to donate anything, for every little bit counts.

There is still a long way to go for Syrian refugees, however, these top 10 facts about hunger in Syria highlight the good and the bad in this devastating crisis.

– Adrienne Tauscheck
Photo: Flickr

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Rise Against Hunger: An Organization Striving to Create an Impact

Rise Against Hunger: An Organization Striving to Create a Tangible Impact

With an alarming 805 million people in the world impacted by hunger, organizations such as Rise Against Hunger are striving to do their part in alleviating malnourished and hungry nations. Because poverty is largely caused by conflict and lack of resources, it is said to be the principal cause of hunger. Rise Against Hunger ignites the passion and drive to address this reality by doing its part in feeding millions and ending global hunger.

What Does Rise Against Hunger Do?

Established in 1998, Rise Against Hunger is an international hunger relief organization with aspirations to end hunger by 2030. Its daily task is to distribute food and aid to the world’s most vulnerable. The organization’s 2017 impact report shows that well over 1.4 million lives were impacted by this single organization in 36 different countries, sending out 76 million meals. A crucial factor in its success can be accredited to its four pillars toward ending world hunger:

  1. Grow movement
  2. Empower communities
  3. Nourish lives
  4. Emergency relief

An effective tool it uses for growing the movement is the volunteering events it hosts throughout different universities and other organizations. This allows people to come together as a community to take action with Rise Against Hunger by packaging meals for distribution to the world’s hungry.

The organization empowers communities by educating and advocating about topics such as sustainable agriculture and hosting clean water projects. Rise Against Hunger also nourishes lives by giving warm, sustainable meals to those who are in dire need by responding to disasters efficiently, therefore providing effective emergency relief with these prepackaged meals.

Who Does the Organization Help?

Tom Barbitta, the Rise Against Hunger Chief Marketing Director, emphasizes the importance of how education plays a vital role in global poverty and how this, as a result, affects the hunger scale of a nation. “A country has never been able to lift itself out of poverty without first hitting a 40 percent literacy rate,” he told The Borgen Project. “Because of this, around 40 percent of the meals distributed from Rise Against Hunger end up in school feeding programs.”

Children who are living in severe poverty have to spend their time begging for food, rather than receiving an education that will benefit them in the future. The organization keeps this in the forefront of its work and Baritta comments that “we hope to empower young minds to take control of their own community.”

Aspirations Become Reality

A 12-year-old child from Zambia, Aswali, who once did not have adequate access to food, now receives meals each day from Rise Against Hunger distributed by Family Legacy Missions. He is also able to provide food for his family while attending school, decreasing the global poverty rate.

Meals from Rise Against Hunger are also distributed to vocational training facilities. In places such as West Africa, when the people in these facilities have access to meals, they are able to focus on their skills which will, in turn, give them an income that allows them to allocate more food for their families and live life on their own terms.

Rise Against Hunger is an organization that makes valuable efforts toward putting an end to the widespread global hunger. Its impact remains prevalent, with thousands of volunteers joining each year creating an effective tool for growing the movement. Rise Against Hunger understands the importance of every individual being able to make a viable difference toward diminishing poverty.

– Angelina Gillispie

Photo: Flickr

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15 Facts About Poverty in Africa

facts about poverty in Africa

Many people are aware that Africa suffers from widespread poverty, but many do not know what that poverty consists of or why it exists. Understanding the facts and seeing the statistics can result in change. Here are 15 facts about poverty in Africa.

Facts and Stats about Africa Poverty

  1. Africa is by far the poorest continent on the planet. 28 of the world’s poorest countries are African.
  2. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the second largest population of hungry people. The largest is in Asia.
  3. Half of the African population lives in poverty. These people do not have access to basic human needs, such as nutrition, clean water, shelter and more. 47 percent of the African population is living on $1.90 or less a day.
  4. Two in five African adults are illiterate. While the continent’s number of schools are increasing, the quality of learning and general attendance is still down due to local violence and gender oppression.
  5. It is projected that the global poor will become more concentrated in Africa. With the population rising at such a high rate on the continent, and having such a large number of poverty-stricken countries, it becomes very difficult to prevent increasing poverty.
  6. One in four people in the sub-Saharan region are malnourished. This is the highest amount of hungry people in the world.
  7. The causes for African hunger are poverty, conflict, the environment and overpopulation. These causes create issues such as disease, floods, genocide and many other resulting crises that result in a lack of food and health within many communities.
  8. Corruption on the continent makes it very difficult to conquer the poverty numbers. With governments confiscating donations from abroad, local militias slaughtering villagers and cultural leaders denying women the right and safety to attend school, poverty perpetuates.
  9. While worldwide poverty is declining — it has been divided in half in the last 30 years — in Africa the progress has been much slower. This is largely due to the rising population and the young age of its government systems, stemming from a history of colonization.
  10. Most of the perpetuation of poverty involves social issues. It is less a matter of wealth, as it is with how the wealth is distributed and shared.
  11. The African governments have not existed for very long. Even in 1950, only four of the 55 African countries had independent governments. Studies state that a government requires several decades at least to stabilize.
  12. The economic gap is huge and still growing. The class system contains huge gaps between the rich and poor, with little mobility due to gender inequality and corruption.
  13. Those living in regions affected by violence are 50 percent more likely to become impoverished. This makes them twice as likely to be affected by hunger. Much of Africa is war-torn and experiencing conflict.
  14. The average woman living in sub-Saharan Africa will give birth to 5.2 kids in her lifetime. While Africa is globally the poorest continent, it is also home to the highest birth rate. With a growing population, this is causing unemployment, disease and hunger.
  15. While the decline of the number of poor in Africa is slower than the global rate, it has recently decreased. It fell from 56 percent in 1990 to 43 percent in 2012.

Knowing the facts about poverty in Africa can illustrate not only the work that needs to be done but also the progress that has been implemented. Africa is a struggling continent, and these facts about poverty in Africa point to a complex problem of young governments, few resources and a growing population. There is plenty of work still to be done.

– Emily Degn

Photo: Flickr

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One in Three People Are Going Hungry in the Dominican Republic

One in Three Going Hungry in the Dominican Republic
Close to one-third of the population in the Dominican Republic lives below the poverty line. With a thriving population of 10.65 million people, this means about 3.25 million are hungry in the Dominican Republic.

Nearly thirty years ago, the Dominican Republic was the fastest growing Latino economy in the world. And in the eyes of most tourists today, it still is. However, in 2003 the country succumbed to an economic crisis.

According to a report by the New York Times, Banco Intercontinental (Baninter Bank), Dominican Republic’s second-largest bank, collapsed due to greed and corruption, leaving the value of the peso almost null and void and the country’s economy in economic shock—2.2 billion dollars-worth of shock. In short, the government crumbled, prices skyrocketed and the countries dollar was almost worthless.

Years later, there has still been no recovery for the average worker. The bailout for the fallout went to the country’s wealthiest people, while the regular working class—thousands of citizens—were left jobless and hungry in the Dominican Republic. The country has failed to uplift fleeting growth sectors like mining, agriculture and education, which brings income to Dominicans of Haitian descent and Haitian immigrants.

To make matters worse, in 2013 the highest court in the Dominican Republic ruled to exclude citizenship to children of migrant Haitians who were born after 1929. This ruling forced thousands, including children, from the country and left others trapped in poverty in the Dominican Republic while they hope to one day become documented citizens again. Since that ruling, almost 300,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent have applied for citizenship. Few have become citizens.

According to a 2017 economic report on the Dominican Republic, the economy is rising and job sectors are slowing increasing because of tourism. But it still does not address a resolution to solving severe hunger in the country.

The biggest hurdle to helping the hungry in the Dominican Republic is overcoming the inequality of wealth distribution. The World Food Programme reported that while the Dominican Republic (DR) is one of the highest ranked upper-middle-income countries in the world, 40 percent of its people still live in poverty. By fairly distributing wealth to the urban areas of the DR, areas occupied by Dominicans of Haitian descent and Haitian migrants, the country could see a return from poverty.

The DR’s failing education system is another cause of poverty in the country. The country’s educations system does not rank well among those in other countries, mainly due to the absence of financial investment in its schools. Poverty affects the ability to learn. Adding a failing education system sets an additional snare, making it twice as difficult for poor people to escape poverty. Urban areas, in particular, have to endure substandard education.

All of this can change for the Dominican Republic. If the government continues to press for the quashing of economic inequality in the country and makes continual efforts to invest in education, this beautiful country can become more than just a tourist site.

– Naomi C. Kellogg

Photo: Flickr

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Sanctioning Hunger in North Korea Worsens Quality of Life

hunger in North Korea

The amount of people suffering from hunger in North Korea has been on a steady incline since the 1990s. North Korea is home to about 25 million people and 10.5 million of these people are undernourished. While 70 percent of the population relies on food aid, the country’s military ambitions have invited harsh sanctions that severely hamper its people.

Roughly a quarter of North Korea’s GDP is funneled into helping Kim Jong-Un present a façade of power via nuclear weapons development. The continued missile launches have caused a lessening of support from charities and world leaders, making it even harder for North Koreans to find food.

Because of this, the vulnerable citizens of North Korea are desperately in need of aid. According to a United Nations report, “More predictable funding is urgently required to ensure the immediate needs of the most vulnerable are addressed.”

In November 2017, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile. The heightened tensions that resulted instigated the United Nations to respond with new sanctions on the regime’s energy supplies.

But while sanctions grip the country in an attempt to incentivize halting nuclear weapons development, the sanctions have also impacted hunger in North Korea. About 60,000 children are at risk of dying due to a lack of food, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. On Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, UNICEF launched a $16.5 million emergency relief for North Korea.

President Donald Trump announced new sanctions against North Korea on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018, and called them “the strongest sanctions on Korea that we have ever put on a country.” The move puts pressure on North Korea’s shipping and trade.

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in January that the international sanctions are “really starting to hurt” North Korea and was confident it would lead the regime to negotiate. The sanctions, combined with drought, corruption and a decline in crop production, add to hunger in North Korea more than they prevent weapon development.

The poor farmers of North Korea have, in some instances, resorted to using human waste as fertilizer for their crops, according to the BBC. This practice leads to the contamination of food grown in the soil. Furthermore, in January, a soldier was shot as he defected from North Korea and attempted to run across the demilitarized zone. An autopsy revealed his severe undernourishment, as well as the presence of many parasites in his stomach.

Kim Jong-Un has leveraged the threat of nuclear weapons and military to attain the opportunity to sit down with the President of the United States. All the while, the North Korean people suffer starvation in exchange. Hunger in North Korea will only continue to worsen if other charitable organizations, such as UNICEF, are unable to provide assistance to the nation.

– Sam Bramlett

Photo: Flickr

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The Hope and Dismay of Starving Syrians

Starving Syrians “Starvation is a different level of abhorrence because it is a slow, gruesome death”. -Dr. Leah Carmichael

The Syrian Civil War seems more and more hopeless as Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his regime gain more power over insurgents and civilians by intentionally starving them and using biological and chemical warfare. With Russian support, Assad has been able to avoid punishment for his war crimes and consequently gain more power.

The Syrian refugee crisis is probably the most notorious aspect of this ongoing war. As per UNHCR, there are 13.1 million people in need of humanitarian aid in Syria. More than five million Syrians have fled the country; however, there are still more than six million that have left their homes and are homeless within their country.

Further, the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reports that there are 6.5 million starving Syrians.

Despite Syria’s seemingly grim future, non-governmental agencies like Mercy Corps have stepped up to help in addition to governmental programs. Mercy Corps helps feed hundreds of thousands of people each month by donating flour to local bakeries and ensuring that people in need are able to get bread from the bakeries.

Nonetheless, Mercy Corps has faced some setbacks, as the Assad regime does not want it to assist starving Syrians. Dr. Leah Carmichael stated that “one of the main roles of the government is to ensure a food supply”.

Dr. Carmichael is a respected professor at the University of Georgia and a food insecurity expert. She has been researching the puzzle of Assad’s starvation war tool to determine why governments starve their people to gain power and later want their people’s support. She is also interested in the role of Mercy Corps in replenishing food for the Syrian people. The Borgen Project had the privilege of interviewing her on March 2, 2018, to gain more insight into the current situation and Mercy Corps.

“Food is really one of those things where if you’re hungry and you weren’t before, it catalyzes that kind of protest [referencing the Arab Spring, the start of the Syrian Civil War],” Carmichael stated in the interview. “Understanding that food is a major provision of welfare for a government and then understanding that the tactic of taking food away and making people hungry is either unintentionally or intentionally a way which governments lose their authority to rule”.

As for Mercy Corps shaping the outcome of the Syrian civil war, Carmichael says it is unintentional yet powerful in helping starving Syrians because “as much as you are keeping civilians alive, you are shaping the future legacy of this war as not just being one where the international community turned a blind eye as mass genocide occurred…as in this case, Mercy Corps is shaping the human side of it.”

However, Carmichael mentioned that Mercy Corps’ role is still a “drop in the bucket” in comparison to what a government could do. She said that everyday people can help this situation by determining “what active role if any should the U.S. play abroad”.

She also mentioned that a growing norm is starting to emerge in the international community called the responsibility to protect, “the idea is that pure sovereignty matters for states, but in the cases where you see sovereignty being used to promote genocide, the international community has a responsibility to step in to protect those people against their government”.

Thus, public pressure to take action could lead the U.S. to possibly intervene. However, public support is withering in terms of U.S. global intervention. As Carmichael stated in a 2017 TEDx Talk, “the abject horror of war is our indifference to it”. Doing good and helping people in need is very much “something that we as Americans like on paper.”

Suzy Hansen from the Washington Post shares a similar view in that Americans under President Trump are beginning to dislike more intervention as an “America First” ideal grows. Further, Americans are learning more about the “darker” parts of American history that have resulted from U.S. intervention, such as U.S.-backed coups. This suggests that many Americans are re-thinking the global role of the U.S., as intervention has the potential to cause more harm than good and can negatively impact relations and foreign policy.

To help starving Syrians, it seems that the international system needs to intervene, as Russian-led peace talks may only prolong suffering. However, “what to do” will prove to be a difficult and methodological decision to make.

– Mary McCarthy

Photo: Flickr

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Could Jackfruit Be Key to Ending World Hunger?

ending world hungerIt may seem crazy, but a fruit with the consistency of pulled pork, a putrid smell and a taste similar to pineapple could be one of the keys to ending world hunger. This crop, the jackfruit, can weigh up to 100 pounds and is rich in protein, potassium and vitamins.

Unfortunately, with its notorious smell, jackfruit has fallen out of favor with consumers in the nations where it most commonly grows in the wild: India and Bangladesh. In India alone, more than 75 percent of the yearly yield goes to waste.

How Is Jackfruit Ending World Hunger?

Recent cautions from the World Bank and the United Nations illustrate how inconsistent rain and soaring temperatures have already reduced wheat and corn yields, and food wars within the next decade are a possibility.

There is an upside. The crops affected most by climate change also have substantial requirements for irrigation and pesticides. The jackfruit, on the other hand, is a perennial (meaning it regrows every year on its own). While it takes up to seven years to bear fruit, which means farmers have to wait, a single tree can yield between 150 and 200 gargantuan fruits per year. It serves plenty of uses, as it can be found in soups, jams and even ice cream. People eat them fresh, dried or roasted. The wood is even rot resistant. With the fruit’s versatility and the ease with which it is cultivated, it is no surprise experts are excited about the jackfruit’s ability to aid in ending world hunger.

Who Loves Jackfruit?

There is an organization aptly called Project Jackfruit that is looking to make jackfruit as readily available as possible over the world. The project believes jackfruit’s status as a “miracle crop” is just another reason it is essential to ending world hunger. It also states that the procurement of the crop will help fight climate change, eliminate waste, feed hungry populations and provide another revenue stream for impoverished farmers in South Asia. The organization markets the fruit globally and has set up relationships with Indian farmers to scale up their production.

The Indian government has gotten on the bandwagon by launching initiatives to increase the fruit’s use in a can and as a processed food. India is fighting to destroy jackfruit’s stigma as a “poor man’s food” via marketing strategies throughout the country. It is outsourcing these projects to local universities such as the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore, India, which devoted two days to a conference that detailed plans to ramp up production and further market the jackfruit and its cousin, the breadfruit.

Looking Forward

Only a handful of commercial jackfruit farms are commercially viable at this point. Still, the future looks bright for the jackfruit. Governments are pushing the resilient crop in their own countries, as well as in food-insecure countries. At the University of Agricultural Sciences, a researcher referred to the fruit as a “miracle.” Combine all this effort with the rise of private investments such as Project Jackfruit, it will be no surprise if jackfruit is a primary part of the discussion behind ending world hunger.

– David Jaques

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Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Singapore

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in SingaporeTo many, Singapore is an eccentric country with gleaming skyscrapers and a wealthy population. In essence, those with this vision are not wrong, seeing that the country is one of the wealthiest and most developed states in the world, simultaneously boasting the world’s highest concentration of millionaires. But, it is also home to the second-biggest inequality gap among advanced economies of Asia. Here, poverty is hidden. The top 10 facts about hunger in Singapore uncover the realities behind a country that many tend to overlook or simply ignore them.

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Singapore

  1. Upwards of 23,000 children in Singapore are malnourished. Additionally, basic needs are inaccessible to 1 in 10 Singaporeans, including essentials such as food and shelter. But, the issue is larger than just putting food on the table and providing for the family. Access to healthy and nutritious food is not a reality for most, and consequently, such unhealthy diets lead to further health issues and chronic disease.
  2. Hidden hunger is real. Hidden hunger is when someone is suffering from malnutrition without feeling hunger. This has recently become a critical problem, specifically among migrant workers where the common food staple is rice. A diet reliant solely on rice, however, lacks adequate and essential nutrients, which leads to malnutrition. To combat this threatening social issue, an organization called BoP HUB is teaming up with a Dutch-based life sciences company by the name of DSM. The two organizations are focusing on fortifying rice, the Singaporean staple, so workers and those suffering from hidden hunger will have access to a nutritious alternative to regular rice, essentially turning meals from empty carbs to healthy carbs.
  3. Relative poverty is Singapore poverty. Relative poverty, more apparent in developed nations, regions and cities, is essentially the cutoff line for how much a household should be able to afford in terms of basic necessities. Even more so, relative poverty includes the monetary minimum needed to avoid “social exclusion.” In more developed nations, there are luxury goods that one can certainly live without, but, when lacking, will likely result in being socially marginalized and significantly limited in one’s career. Around 10-12 percent of households in Singapore fall below the basic living expenditure of $1,250 per month; however, 23-26 percent of households fall below the threshold of $3,000, the unwritten cutoff line that deems one to be either socially excluded or not.
  4. The complexity of poverty in Singapore is not understood. It is easy to assume that hunger doesn’t exist among the well-educated population of an affluent city-state, but unmet social needs are real and remain poorly understood. Associate Professor John Donaldson of the Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Social Sciences states that “Singapore’s economy developed rapidly, and the ‘Third World’ form of poverty has disappeared. Yet, many people fall into a type of ‘First World’ poverty.” According to economists and statistics, between 10-14 percent of Singaporeans suffer from severe financial trouble and pressure and are often unable to meet basic needs. Ultimately, hunger remains one of the most prominent issues.
  5. The Food Bank of Singapore has accepted the challenge of eradicating hunger. This organization receives donations of surplus food from retailers, distributors and manufacturers. Despite losing commercial value, the foods are still safe to consume. With 800,000 meals delivered monthly, the Food Bank is helping to curb the tide of hunger and give Singapore’s forgotten an opportunity to thrive. Furthermore, the organization works to spread awareness about hunger and decrease the stigma for those in need.
  6. The Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Singapore as the second-most food secure country in the world, behind only the United States. Based on affordability, availability and quality and safety, Singapore is ahead of major food-producing nations despite its heavy dependence on food imports. With only 1 percent of the land being dedicated to agriculture, Singapore must import 90 percent of the country’s food, yet they have found a way to secure food. Through the diversification of food sources, the economy and food security are not highly impacted by other nation’s economic decline because the variety of import countries allows for flexibility.
  7. Local food production has increased. The Agri-Food and Veterinary (AVA) and the Food Fund have allowed Singapore to increase its local vegetable production by 30 percent over the past decade. Upwards of 40 percent of local farms are benefiting from the help of investment in advancements and new farming techniques such as hydroponics.
  8. Rising obesity in children and young adults foretells an increase in diabetes. Rates for diabetes in adults have already risen from 8.6 percent in 1992 to 12.9 percent in 2015. As a result of working life and less physical activity, obesity has been rising at a faster rate for the population under 40 years of age. Moreover, people continue to eat the same amount of food, but without the benefit of physical activity to keep them in check.
  9. Malnutrition among the elderly is increasing. In 2015, Tan Tock Seng Hospital estimated that about 30 percent of the elderly population were at risk of malnutrition. In such a developed country, this is a surprise to many. Malnutrition in the elderly increases the risk of medical complications, including infections, fractures and compromised recovery and rehabilitation.
  10. The Sustainable Development Goals aim to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030. This U.N. goal of “Zero Hunger” aims to eradicate food insecurity, providing sufficient and nutritious food to the population, especially the most vulnerable, all year round. The organization One Singapore is echoing this goal through foodbank programs working to eradicate poverty and hunger.

The top 10 facts about hunger in Singapore shine a light on the surprising challenges of malnutrition and poverty in a country of so much wealth. In forthcoming decades, there is hope that food security for the most vulnerable – children, elderly, and migrant workers – will increase. As a country with such a powerful reputation, it is vital to harbor awareness of the country’s struggles if such pervasive issues are to be alleviated.

– Mary Grace Miller

Photo: Flickr