Archive for category: Hunger

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7 Ways the FAO is Tackling Hunger in Palau

Hunger in PalauFor 18 years, the Republic of Palau, an island country in Micronesia, has worked with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to improve the lives of families living below the poverty line. Together, the government and the FAO are combatting hunger in Palau in the following ways.

7 Ways the FAO is Tackling Hunger in Palau

Palau first partnered with the FAO in 1999. The cooperation between the country and the FAO to reduce hunger has helped increase the production and productivity of farming systems and contributes primarily to supporting local food production.

    1. Country Programming Framework- The FAO (CPF) for Palau focuses on improving food security and developing sustainable agricultural and fisheries systems.  It emphasizes empowering the farmers, promoting agritourism and building resilience to climate change. 
    2. Local Crops- The FAO focuses on cultivating traditional crops like taro, cassava, sweet potato, banana and coconut to support local food production. Most of the harvest feeds the families and the country’s small commercial sub-sector in local markets and farms.
    3. Fishery Systems- The FAO is promoting the development of fishery systems through the Fish Aggregating Device program. It provides training on fishery techniques and safety. It also helps research yellow tuna fishing and thus helps strengthen local communities. 
    4. Training- The FAO regularly holds training events in Palau to target agriculture and domestic farming practices. Participants receive training in fundamental farm financial analysis and recordkeeping. They are also trained to be able to advise smaller local farmers in terms of marketing. 
    5. Agrotouristry- The FAO incorporates traditional agricultural practices with tourism and promotes local food heritage. This helps preserve the cultural traditions and improve the economic conditions of the local farmers. 
    6. Formation of Farmers Association– The FAO has helped establish the Farmers’ Association, which has increased cooperation among the local farmers. It also facilitates partnerships between the farmers and other stakeholders and creates new opportunities for the farmers. 
    7. Climate Resilience- The FAO promotes a sustainable land use system- agroforestry, in Palau. The initiative aims to restore degraded lands and improve soil quality.  Hence, it builds climate resilience in the community. 

Through its partnership with the FAO, the government and local agricultural workers are making strides towards improving livelihoods in Palau. The progress achieved so far has led to enhanced food security in the country, contributing to reduced hunger in Palau. 

– Olivia Cyr and Maria Waleed

Photo: Unsplash

Updated: July 10, 2024

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Global Need Through Graphic Novels

Global Need Through Graphic NovelsThe World Food Program has teamed up with comic writer Joshua Dysert, artist Alberto Ponticelli, colorist Pat Masioni and letterist Thomas Mauer to illustrate global need through graphic novels.

Their first collaboration was “Living Level-3: Iraq” in February 2016, which followed Khaled Bushar, an Iraqi refugee, as he tries to survive in the country during the rise of the Islamic State. In 2017, their second graphic novel, “Living Level-3: South Sudan”, follows members of a Sudanese family who have to leave their home for a more dangerous place because of famine. Both graphic novels also revolve around Leila Helal, an aid worker for the WFP.

Before working on either graphic novel, Dysert spent time in both countries, classified by the United Nations as level 3 emergencies due to extreme humanitarian crises, interviewing the citizens and studying the area. He then worked with the rest of the creative team to devise graphic novels that present an honest and compelling picture of the situation in each country.

One of the benefits of illustrating global need through graphic novels is the ability to create an engaging story while informing the public about the country’s humanitarian situation. In an interview with Humanosphere, Dysert discussed how he wanted to present facts about what was going on in Iraq, but not in a dry medium like many documentaries. Graphic novels provide him with that opportunity, using illustrations and storytelling.

Another opportunity that results from highlighting global need through graphic novels is the scope that graphic novels can cover compared to other mediums. WFP’s head of television communications Jonathan Dumont and head of graphic design and publishing Cristina Ascone have talked about how graphic novels provide an overall picture of everything involved with the crisis, from the citizens to the governments to the aid organizations and beyond. Details like these are harder to notice when looking at a photograph or watching a short video.

Illustrating global need through graphic novels also provides more opportunities for empathy. As discussed by Mashable, the readers get to know the characters, their personalities and their relationships. Therefore, the readers are more invested in what happens to those characters when the hardships of living in their communities occur. They wish for a better life for those characters and praise the efforts of the aid organizations. A final benefit that comes from describing global aid through graphic novels is that it promotes global advocacy to a new audience.

WFP is already working on a third “Living Level-3” graphic novel. Their dedication to explaining global need through graphic novels will hopefully spark an interest in global issues in others.

– Cortney Rowe
Photo: Flickr

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President Michel Addresses Hunger in Seychelles

Hunger in SeychellesJames A. Michel, the former president of Seychelles, attended a General Assembly for the United Nations in September of 2008 to discuss hunger in Seychelles as one of the enemies the Seychellois face daily.

According to the U.N., he also addressed the poverty and inequality of the global trading system that causes hunger in Seychelles. Alluding to the morality of the citizens in the Assembly Hall, Michel set clear commitments to resolve the climate, energy and food crises, among others.

The U.N. also clarified that his concepts suggest that industrialized countries should remove subsidies given to their farmers and provide the global South with urgently-needed resources to improve its infrastructure.

With about 90,000 inhabitants off the eastern coast of Africa and northeast of Madagascar, the Republic of Seychelles has the smallest population of all African countries.

While it is a naturalist’s playground and widely celebrated for its ecotourism on the mainland, inhabitants continue to look to global organizations such as Global Citizen, Save The Children, UNICEF and UNDP for support related to hunger in Seychelles. Part of this global support was the founding of a Global Island Partnership to get all small islands and nations with islands to give part of their natural resources to conservation sustainability.

The Food and Agriculture Organization reported that the islands live with several inconvenient circumstances, such as expensive food from remote markets. Another issue is the spread of aggressive creepers that have carried destructive diseases to some of the major forest lands during the last 40 years. One factor that limits agricultural production is the current forest laws that ban development on about half of the country’s land. This ultimately results in more hunger in Seychelles.

“Of the total value of tuna – our ‘blue gold’ – caught and transhipped in our waters by foreign fishing vessels every year, the Seychelles receives only 7 percent in revenue, comprising license and transhipment fees. This to my mind is unacceptable,” Michel announced to the Assembly. He suggested a restored United Nations to lessen foreign manipulation by investors for the country’s natural resources.

Correspondingly, the FAO monitored progress towards reducing hunger in Seychelles. The data displayed that of the total population from 2006-2008, over 83,000 people were undernourished.

One must remember that the slightest efforts have an impact on the mission to end world hunger. People should do what they can to help advocate for and support the less fortunate, as these affairs have the possibility to have a constructive outcome communally.

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) aims to give all people, especially those in vulnerable situations, access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. They also intend to double the agricultural productivity and the incomes of small-scale food producers by the year 2030.

To get involved, consider occupying your time collaboratively by joining the global conversation using the hashtag #sey4sdg in support of the SDG 2: NO HUNGER.

– Jalil Perry

Photo: Flickr

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Is Hunger in Macau a Problem?

Hunger in MacauColonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East. Located in Eastern Asia, Macau borders the South China Sea and China. Although noted as a wealthy country, is hunger in Macau a problem?

Known as the “Las Vegas of the East” and with a GDP per capita more than double that of the United Kingdom, Macau is listed as the world’s third wealthiest city behind Luxembourg and Qatar, according to the International Monetary Fund.

With a population around 600,000 people, Macau’s life expectancy is at 84.5 years. For the male population, it is noted that 15.8 percent were overweight, while 18.8 percent were obese. Significantly more men than women aged 25-44 years were overweight and obese in Macau. Although Asia is noted as the continent with the most hunger issues, hunger in Macau is seen as a country with a small problem of malnutrition, but a bigger problem of overeating.

Local government statistics say that only 2.3 percent of Macau’s population lives in poverty, but the percentage is based on income and does not take into account the high cost of living. With the cost of living rising and wages staying the same, the rising costs have forced some to leave the country to seek a cheaper life in China.

While Macau’s poor are ignored and suffer, big businesses flourish. Instead of building houses and helping the poor, the government allocates more money to the gambling business. It is estimated that 10 percent of the population lives in poverty, with 7 percent struggling to fulfill basic needs such as food.

According to the Macau Daily Times, Macau Oxfam does not simply offer food and other resources to those in need, it also provides them with seeds and teaches them how to get out of the poverty cycle.

Although the country has yet to take action in recognizing hunger in Macau and helping their own, it has formed the organization Macau Famine. This includes a series of educational and fundraising activities based on the year’s theme. Generous donations are used to support World Vision’s work in Asian countries by providing health and nutrition assistance for children and families.

– Stefanie Podosek

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Hunger in Gibraltar No Longer a Problem

Hunger in GibraltarTwenty-first-century Gibraltar is drastically different from what it was just thirty years ago. According to the CIA’s World Fact Book, the self-sufficient British Overseas Territory benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, its position as an international conference center and tourism, among many other economic drivers. Low tax rates have also attracted plentiful foreign investment, driving British military presence to decrease to seven percent from the original 60 percent in the mid-1980s and hunger in Gibraltar to near dissolution.

Although no data exists to date for the percentage of Gibraltar’s 34,408 citizen population living below the international poverty line, the territory’s unemployment rate was listed as one percent in 2016, suggesting that Gibraltar has come a long way since the 19th century, when malnutrition, disease and economic instability were widespread. With improvements in the economy, poverty and hunger in Gibraltar have naturally become less and less concerning.

Gibraltar is currently a member of the European Union as a Special State territory, joining the European Economic Community under the United Kingdom in 1973. Despite its membership, Gibraltar is not subject to the same taxation requirements as other members. As a result, the territory has no capital gains tax, wealth tax, sales tax or value added tax. Non-resident businesses do not pay income tax unless the sources of this income are Gibraltar proper, and there is no tax on capital income. This plethora of “tax-free” conditions has made international trade a large player in the Gibraltarian economy, as non-resident companies can take advantage of such regimes to reduce taxation.

With recent Brexit developments, however, a debate over Gibraltar’s continued status as a member of the EU has arisen. Over 96 percent of the territory’s population voted to remain in a referendum held in June 2016 on the issue of continued EU membership. Since the referendum, Spain has offered a plan to keep Gibraltar in the EU on the condition that Madrid shares sovereignty over Gibraltar with London. Gibraltarian citizens overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.

Gibraltar currently benefits from the tourism industry and trade with Spain through its membership in the EU. Not only would leaving the EU mean leaving the European common market, a risky move for an extremely dependent territory like Gibraltar, but Spain’s economy would suffer as well. In 2007 alone, Gibraltar imported more than £174 million of goods and services from Spain, excluding petroleum imports, and enabled both Spanish and Gibraltarian frontier workers to earn £82.8 million from within the economy of Gibraltar.

On the surface poverty and hunger in Gibraltar may no longer be major issues of concern, but looming economic policy decisions could drastically change and shape the future of the territory.

– Katherine Wang

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Hunger in The Czech Republic

Hunger in The Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is in Central Europe between Germany, Poland, Austria and Slovakia. After World War I, the Czechs and the Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire came together and formed Czechoslovakia. A political revolution caused the nation to split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993.

The country has since opened up to free market capitalism and has a parliamentary republic. These factors have contributed to only one in ten Czechs living below the poverty line when last measured in 2016. The Czech Republic is among the countries in the EU with the lowest rate of poverty, which has allowed hunger in the Czech Republic to be almost non-existent.

The Effects Of Hunger For Czechs
Hunger in the Czech Republic is not a primary concern for the country’s government due to its .48 percent malnutrition rate. This rate means that .48 people out of every 100,000 in the Czech Republic will die of hunger, making it one of the least hungry countries in the world.

When UNICEF last did a study of hunger in the Czech Republic, it found that hunger was not an issue that was affecting many in the nation. Currently, only two percent of Czechs under the age of five suffer from stunted growth caused by malnutrition. On top of this, only one percent of Czechs under the age of five suffer from being underweight due to malnutrition.

Babies do not suffer from hunger in the Czech Republic due to the abundance of food in the nation. When last measured, only eight percent of babies were born with a low birth weight and the majority of babies born underweight quickly grew to a healthy weight.

The Takeaway
The shift from a socialist government to a government that practices free market capitalism alongside its parliamentary republic have allowed hunger in the Czech Republic to be non-existent. For the one in ten citizens in the nation who are impoverished, social welfare programs ensure these people get adequately fed. Overall, hunger in the Czech Republic is almost a non-issue.

– Nick Beauchamp

Photo: Flickr

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Business Ideas to Help Alleviate Global Poverty

Sixteen entrepreneurs had the chance to present their companies’ plans at the United States Institute of Peace this past month. These entrepreneurs from all around the globe have developed business ideas to help alleviate global poverty and meet the U.N’s Sustainable Development Goals. They had the opportunity to pitch these plans at the Unreasonable Goals Global Event Summit, an annual event hosted by the private holding company Unreasonable Group in Washington, D.C.

The Unreasonable Group brings together for-profit enterprises seeking social change and connects investors to their initiatives. The Group’s main goals in this endeavor are clearly stated, they are: to increase the flow of investment dollars to these initiatives, to accelerate the rapid-growth of effective entrepreneurial solutions, to establish public-private relationships between the world’s largest institutions and the most impactful entrepreneurs and to see a short and long term measurable impact for millions of people’s lives through these companies. The group’s goals are all framed around helping achieve the U.N’s Global Goals, signed two years ago, and which have a concrete deadline of 2030.

In 2015, 193 countries signed onto a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations which strive to achieve several ends. These include ending global poverty and global hunger, ensuring good health and wellbeing for all, fighting inequality and tackling climate change. Under these 17 goals, the U.N. outlines 169 concrete targets for the 193 signatories to be achieved by 2030; they are also actively keeping track of work done so far and further outlining what is still needed.

At the first Unreasonable Goals Global Event Summit this year, there were several presentations of business ideas to help alleviate poverty that ranged from mobile health applications to clean water start-ups. One notable pitch was that of CEO Emily Stone of Uncommon Cacao. In her presentation, she claimed that 90 percent of cacao farmers are locked in poverty, earning a mere $2 per day; the mass consumption of cheap chocolate bars across the world, especially developed nations, perpetuates this situation. Her company, then, seeks to combat the commodification of the cacao supply chain by paying more directly to the farmers for better quality chocolate and thus helping lift them out of poverty.

The Unreasonable Group is demonstrating how achieving the U.N’s goals and constructing a better world is not solely in the hands of governments. By empowering entrepreneurs with business ideas to help alleviate global poverty they are softening the burden on centralized authorities and helping to catalyze the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

– Alan Garcia-Ramos

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in French Polynesia Less Critical Than Nutrition

As a scenic collection of islands sitting in the South Pacific, French Polynesia is known for its breathtaking ocean views and sandy beaches. French Polynesia has a population of about 280,000, and the country’s GDP annual growth is approximately four percent. The value added to the country’s GDP for agriculture is approximately five percent. While the image of resort life makes food insecurity seem like a non-issue, hunger in French Polynesia presents a challenge to the country’s lower class, and issues of nutrition plague most of its residents.

According to a report from the World Health Organization, issues of hunger in French Polynesia can mainly be attributed to issues of nutrition. Anemia, iodine deficiencies and vitamin A deficiencies are common nutritional issues in the country, according to the report. Anemia was found to mostly affect pregnant women and children. According to the report, of the pregnant women attending antenatal consultations in 2000, approximately 60 percent were suffering from anemia. Of 107 children surveyed in 1997, approximately 43 percent had anemia. Further studies in 2001 and 2002 showed a growing prevalence of anemia in school children.

One area in respect to nutrition that has seen improvement is infant feeding. According to the report, approximately 81 percent of infants were breastfed at birth in 2000. In the following years, this percentage grew, and the percentage of infants who were exclusively breastfed grew from five percent in 1997 to 19 percent in 2001.

Hunger in French Polynesia is viewed as a less critical problem in the country in comparison to issues of nutrition, though it is still a prominent challenge for low-income families.

According to data from Trading Economics, the depth of hunger in kilocalories for those living in French Polynesia is about 150. This means that the depth of hunger is relatively low, though it tends to have a greater effect on lower-class citizens.

– Leah Potter

Photo: Flickr

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Ancient Seeds Could Fight Hunger in Central America

Hunger in Central AmericaCentral America is famous in many parts of the world for its coffee production, however, the region must also cultivate other crops and livestock to feed its population. As of 2014, the UN had declared much of Central America to be in a drought zone – one affecting over 2.8 million peoples’ food sources and financial security. Fortunately, ancient drought-resistant seeds could prevent impoverishment and hunger for many Central American farmers.

Drought instigates hunger in Central America and other places through a persistent lack of rainfall. The shortage of precipitation does not allow crops to grow, preventing farmers from eating or selling their yields. The National Drought Mitigation Center calls drought “a creeping phenomenon.” Many areas of the world go through shorter, less intense droughts; however, Central America’s has been dire.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has overviewed the situation by stating “The lack of rain since the middle of 2014 has resulted in the loss of staple grain crops and death of thousands of cattle in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and to a lesser extent in areas of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.”

Reversing the drought over an area as large as Central America seems to be an immense or even impossible undertaking, given that the drought has already affected millions of people. However, the answer to the area’s low food output and the growing hunger problem in Central America could lie within a specific type of seed – preserved ancient seeds.

The organization, Native Seeds/SEARCH, located in Tucson, Arizona, is a nonprofit dedicated to conserving local biodiversity. Many of the seeds protected and cultivated by the organization are anciently local to the dry and arid environment. This quality marks the seeds as well-suited to areas experiencing chronic drought, such as Central America. Moreover, the kernels that Native Seeds/SEARCH have protected have already been successfully used to provide the Tohono O’odham Nation of American Indians with a sustainable food source.

Because the seeds have been used for thousands of years in the dry environment of southwestern U.S., they have a natural propensity to thrive in drought-ridden areas. The seeds were not only cultivated in this region, but are also naturally native. This means that the seeds have a genetic predisposition to grow in nearly waterless environments.

Native Seeds/SEARCH calls their organization a “seed bank” and uses new freezing technologies to store their seeds. “What began as a humble operation with seeds stored in chest freezers has grown to a state-of-the art conservation facility,” states Native Seeds/SEARCH on their methodology.

Although no effort has been made directly by the organization to alleviate hunger in Central America specifically, Gary Nabhan, co-founder of the Native Seeds/SEARCH project, has expressed his enthusiasm for sowing his seeds on a grander scale. “We promote the use of these ancient crops and their wild relatives by distributing seeds to traditional communities and to gardeners worldwide.”

This endeavor could lead to a large reduction in hunger and poverty in drought-affected areas, which could possibly alleviate hunger in Central America as well, as it is most certainly affected by drought and in dire need of aid.

– Michael Carmack

Photo: Flickr

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Future Solutions for the Problem of Hunger in Central America

Hunger in Central AmericaSince mid-2014, the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica have been victims of a severe drought. The El Niño conditions that began in March of 2015 have caused staple crops to wither and thousands of cattle to die. These El Niño conditions worsened, and, by the end of June 2016, there were 3.5 million people affected by the drought and 1.6 million at the mercy of hunger in Central America.

This crisis, while dire, has been a rare outlier in the largely successful efforts to ease the pangs of hunger in Central America. Among the major problems contributing to the food shortages of Central America has been widespread poverty. Extreme poverty in Central America was reduced by 50 percent between 1995 and 2011.

The same can be said for hunger itself. Between 1992 and 2014, the number of people affected by hunger in Central America was reduced from 68.5 million to 37 million. While success this resounding is encouraging, it does not by any means imply that the fight to end hunger in Central America is over.

The El Niño drought was one of the worst in recent memory. Though its severity was extreme, it remains indicative of a problem which Central American farmers must face constantly. Droughts devastate Central America with shocking regularity, whether caused by El Niño or other malignant weather patterns.

In order to address the droughts, which, alongside endemic poverty, have been the biggest contributors to the problem of hunger in Central America, the U.N. has begun working with the governments of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala in order to better construct strategies that will allow the countries to remain independent in cases of severe drought. The U.N. has instructed farmers to plant crops that are both less water-dependent and more flood-resistant.

The problem of hunger in Central America is not one which will solve itself, but continuing to allow the countries hit hardest by droughts and poverty to rely on foreign aid and intervention a strategy that will not work in the future. The pattern the U.N. and forward-thinking governments like those of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have established is one that must be followed. Countries such as these can utilize the ingenuity of their people alongside the expertise of foreign aid to alleviate both poverty and hunger, creating a prosperous cycle that will benefit themselves both now and in the future.

– Connor S. Keowen