Archive for category: Hunger

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20 Global Poverty Facts


Living in poverty is a reality that many across the world face every single day. Here are 20 global poverty facts to help better understand these realities.

  1. According to the U.N., there are around 836 million people living in extreme poverty worldwide.
  2. There are many people around the world living on the cusp of becoming impoverished.
  3. Millions of people live on just slightly over $1.25 each day.
  4. One in five people living throughout developing areas of the world lives on less than $1.25 a day. Those who are facing this reality mainly live in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
  5. Poverty reduction has been focused on areas of Asia, with China having the most progress.
  6. Half of those who live in extreme poverty are in sub-Saharan Africa. This number is increasing.
  7. Out of all the undernourished people throughout the world, 98 percent are those living in developing countries.
  8. A majority of the poor around the globe live in rural areas. They are often employed in agriculture and have an inadequate education.
  9. Every day about 22,000 children die because of conditions due to poverty.
  10. Lack of resources, economic systems, hunger and conflict are some of the causes of poverty in different countries.
  11. Poverty is the leading cause of hunger.
  12. A growing world population makes it harder for every person to have access to an adequate standard of living.
  13. Climate change and natural disasters play a current and future role in poverty issues worldwide.
  14. Poverty increases the threat of violence and exploitation towards children.
  15. Poverty is not an issue that only affects developing nations. In the world’s richest countries, one out of four children is living in poverty.
  16. Social protection only reaches a third of the poorest people.
  17. Despite the work that still needs to be done, there has been progress in the reduction of world poverty. One billion fewer people are in extreme poverty compared to two decades ago.
  18. One of the goals the U.N. has set is to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.
  19. Through all of the visions set by the U.N., they seek to “leave no one behind.”
  20. On a global scale, anyone who makes more than $34,000 annually is among the richest one percent in the world.

These 20 global poverty facts help to better understand the global situation facing us today. While there has been progress in global poverty reduction, many challenges still lie ahead.

– Shannon Elder

Photo: Flickr

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Is Hunger in San Marino a Problem?

Hunger in San MarinoThe Republic of San Marino is a high-income, landlocked microstate surrounded by Italy and claims to be the world’s oldest republic. At 23.6 square miles and with a population of 35,000, it is the smallest independent state in Europe. 

Economy and Economic Outlook

San Marino negotiated an association agreement with the European Union in December 2023 that awaits ratification. Once ratified, San Marino will experience free movement in the EU of goods, services, capital and people. 

San Marino’s economy is relatively diverse but experiences volatile performance due to its small size.

More than a third of its GDP is estimated to be attributed to manufacturing, unusual for a “micro-sovereign,” followed by the services and commerce sectors. Tourism is a strong sector that has increased since the pandemic, while a substantial decrease in demand from Italy slowed the economy in 2023. Ratification of the EU association agreement is expected to have an impact over the next two years, with broadened export opportunities that would facilitate increased diversity of the economy. 

San Marino and Poverty

There is no data on poverty in San Marino, but the country has been described as the eighth-richest nation in the world. It has been reported that its extensive social net provides assistance to those with incomes below that to provide a “basic standard of living.” 

San Marino and Hunger

In 2021, San Marino published a Voluntary National Review of its progress in implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its report on SDG 2, Zero Hunger, addressed crops and breeding, organic farming, multifunctional agriculture and management and monitoring of the country’s agricultural and forestry heritage. Ongoing initiatives are directed toward “sustainable eating behavior,” promoted by food education in schools. These initiatives include a Working Group on Health Education in Schools and a Mind Your Health annual survey of physical activity in schools, and dietary habits. The Working Group focuses on healthy lifestyles and healthy school meals, with particular attention to obesity. 

A consortium of owner farmers, agricultural producers and professional associations has developed a certification process to assure food quality in the local product supply chain in an “identity and cultural process.” Indeed, the branded products have brought recognition to, and enhancement of, typical local products, led to the “rediscovery of culinary traditions” and culminated in the establishment of the Museum of Rural Life.

San Marino has participated in the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste designated by the United Nations and co-convened by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization and its Environment Programme. 

San Marino and Nutrition

The 2022 Global Nutrition Report includes San Marino in its country’s nutrition profiles, although there were data available on only two of the study’s 13 indicators—low birth weight and anemia. Furthermore, San Marino was reported as “on course” for the low-birth-weight target, which has been declining over the last two decades. However, there was no progress regarding the reduction of anemia among women of reproductive age or the proportion of those women affected by anemia. The country has implemented national food and noncommunicable disease policies in four of 10 suggested areas and included national policy targets for five of eleven global nutrition targets. 

A Hunger Problem?

While there undoubtedly are hungry people in San Marino, thanks to its solid economy and attention to social issues, hunger would not be a significant problem for the country.

– Staff Reports

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Croatia: Progress Continues


On February 22, 2017, citizens gathered at Zagreb’s Croatian National Theater in celebration. That day marked the 100th year anniversary of Friar Didak Buntic’s efforts to save children in Croatia, Herzegovina and Bosnia from the famine plaguing the last two years of World War I. Through his efforts between 1917 and 1919, an estimated 29,000 famished children were moved to more affluent areas in the North. They were greeted by organized shelters led by Buntic and other prominent citizens. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic lauded the humanitarian’s work at the anniversary celebration.

Since then, and especially in the past few years, Croatia has made significant gains when it comes to hunger. The Global Hunger Index in 2015 cited that, along with 17 other countries, Croatia had reduced the number of people with lack of access to food supplies by 50 percent. This improvement came on the heels of the damaging 2008 recession, which caused the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to report in 2014 that Croatia’s children were among the hardest hit — ranking 38th in the world as those years saw an 11.8 percent rise in impoverished children.

Regardless of recent improvement, UNICEF’s findings in 2014 caused political turmoil between Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic and Mladen Levak, a member of the Croatian parliament for the Labour party. Milanovic insisted that the findings were false and tinted with populist bias. Levak offers a rebuttal, “….Yes, there is food but not for all — for some opportunities pile up while for others poverty piles up.”

This sentiment reflects the fact that poverty and hunger in Croatia mimic that of other developed countries. How one is poor, and not just the fact that one is, does matter. Poverty can be felt in different ways, especially between the 21 different counties across Croatia — all of whom experience poverty slightly differently. The difference lies between poverty depth and poverty severity — how far away households are from the poverty line versus the income inequality between the poor classes.

The 2016 Global Hunger Index for Croatia is rated as a low score of less than five. There is still work to be done, as there is in every nation globally, but hunger in Croatia has improved markedly from the damaging 2008 recession. It seems hopeful that in another 100 years the people of Croatia will be able to celebrate Friar Didak Buntic’s work once again.

– Tammy Hineline

 

 

Photo: Flickr

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The Drought in Somalia Escalates


Within 48 hours, 110 people die from starvation and dehydration as the drought in Somalia escalates.

The newly-elected prime minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, reported on the matter at a meeting with the Somali National Drought Committee. The majority of victims consisted of women and children from the rural regions of Somalia’s southwestern Bay, where the drought is most severe.

This drought has affected more than 6.2 million people. As little rain has fallen and rivers have dried up, the people of Somalia are facing severe food insecurity and lack of clean water. Nearly 5.5 million are at high risk of contracting acute watery diarrhea, cholera and measles — all of which are waterborne diseases that rapidly spread through poor water quality.

As the death toll increases, the World Health Organization warned that the country is on the brink of famine, its potential third case in 25 years. The last famine, which lasted from 2011 to 2012, killed around 260,000 people. The famine of 1992 killed about 220,000.

Peter de Clercq, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, echoed the potential of famine — but only if the world is slow to step-up and increase humanitarian assistance. He warned, “If we do not scale up the drought-response immediately, it will cost lives, further destroy livelihoods, and could undermine the pursuit of key state-building initiatives.”

As the drought in Somalia escalates, children are the ones impacted the most. Three million children are missing school in order to maintain the lives of their family’s livestock, and another 100,000 may soon join them. Perhaps more tragically, over 363,000 children have been reported as acutely malnourished and another 70,000 severely malnourished, all of which are in desperate need of life-saving support.

Somalia is one of four nations listed by the U.N. as at-risk of famine, alongside Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen. Famine is declared when 20 percent of households cannot function during food shortages, more than 30 percent of the population experiences acute malnutrition and more than two deaths occur per 10,000 people.

The Associated Press has reported the U.N. is calling for $864 million in humanitarian assistance, with a recent appeal for another $26 million that will fund a response as the drought in Somalia escalates.

– Brenna Yowell

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Botswana: A Problem of Climate Change


Botswana was rated as Serious on the Global Hunger Index, and hunger in Botswana is a problem that is highly correlated with climate. Botswana has a semi-arid climate that is not opportune to grow food. In the summer, temperatures can climb as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

For this reason, the nation imports 90 percent of its food. Global food prices in 2011 were particularly high, and this caused Botswana’s food security to suffer. Every few decades, Botswana experiences a drought that can last five years or more. Those in poverty cannot afford imported food, and therefore are most affected by droughts within the country.

From 2008-2012, 31 percent of children in Botswana suffered moderate to severe stunting due to malnutrition, according to UNICEF. In 2016, almost a quarter of the population was malnourished and 23 percent of children under five years old were affected by stunting. In 2012, the amount of stunting in children under five was doubled in children from the most impoverished families compared to children from wealthier families. The government has invested in infrastructure to help increase food production.

Climate change directly affects crops and water for irrigation. Ninety-five percent of crops in sub-Saharan Africa depend on rainwater irrigation. There is an average of 460 mm of rain in Botswana each year, depending on the region. In comparison, the average amount of rainfall in the United States each year is 767 mm.

One solution to hunger in Botswana is to focus on creating jobs in the agricultural sector, rather than creating an abundance of food. In 2010, 26.4 percent of employment in Botswana was in the agricultural sector. Only wealthy farmers can afford the fossil fuels necessary for large scale production. Since expensive farming methods increase food prices, Botswana should focus on farming methods that create jobs for more people.

To alleviate hunger in Botswana, the large role that agriculture plays in the economy should not be ignored.

– Jennifer Taggart

Photo: Flickr

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Education in Hungary


Hungary offers free state education to all children residing in the country. Education in Hungary is more traditional than other systems and focuses on many areas in various industries in order to prepare students for life after full-time education.

From the ages of five to 16, Hungarian children are required by law to attend full-time education. Most schools are funded by the state, with private schools charging fees that are subsidized by the government. Education in Hungary is based highly on tradition, which lies at the heart of the system. Prior to examinations in the final years of secondary education, there is a famous “Ribbon Consecration,” with a final party at the end of school where traditional college songs are sung. It is compulsory to spend eight years in full-time education and two more years in high school, vocational school, or trade school.

A third of students choose to continue with vocational education after graduating from secondary school. There are three types of vocational schools: technician training, skilled-worker training, and middle vocational school. Students graduate from vocational education with a double qualification and a “Mantura,” meaning university entrance, and qualify as a skilled worker.

Vocational colleges differentiate from vocational schools. Vocational colleges offer more specialized courses, for example, in health or stereography. Each course lasts three years and final exams are taken at the end. If passed, students receive their diploma.

Another post-secondary school option is to attend a trade school. It lasts three to four years, with limited theoretic content, and involves a work placement. Students can only attend trade school if they have secured work placement, provided either by the school or through a specific company.

As a nation, Hungary is known to be very welcoming to refugees and asylum-seekers, accepting more than 480,000 refugees over the past few years. Education in Hungary is offered to any child residing in the country free of charge, according to the Public Education Act, meaning that refugee children have the same rights as Hungarian students. There is difficulty with integrating refugees with students, as there are limited spaces in schools, but this is resolved with special preparatory classes that are offered.

Education in Hungary is easily accessible for all, with every opportunity being open to students of any nationality. Different areas of training prepare students for working life and enable them to learn key skills within industries.

– Georgia Boyle

Photo: Flickr

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Three Nonprofits That Fight Hunger in Uganda


At least 1.3 million Ugandans face hunger following drought conditions and subsequent poor crop yields, according to a 2016 email statement from Christopher Kibazanga, Ugandan Minister of State for Agriculture. Among the harder hit were the citizens of the northeastern Karamoja region, with 65 percent of people having access to only half a meal or less per day.

Multiple nonprofits, however, have focused on eliminating Uganda food insecurity for decades and are still seeking long-term solutions to this crisis. Here are three nonprofit initiatives that are contributing to the fight against hunger in Uganda.

Hunger Project

Hunger Project has been working in Uganda since 1999, and utilizes an aid distribution method they refer to as an “epicenter strategy.” This method involves establishing community-built and community-facilitated mobilization centers that bring together multiple villages to share resources and address issues that affect all communities involved.

Over an eight-year timeframe, an epicenter addresses hunger and poverty while allowing communities to become sustainable and self-reliant, with the goal of being able to fund programs and activities without investor involvement.

Hunger Project has established 11 epicenters that serve 494 villages in total, reaching 287,807 people in all.

The World Food Programme

World Food Programme (WFP) is working with the Ugandan government, partners in the United Nations and nongovernment organizations to turn emergency responses to food insecurity into longer-term investments that seek to solve the root of the problems.

WFP supports approximately 70 percent of refugees in Uganda through monthly rations, cooked meals at transit centers and nutrition support for pregnant and nursing women and children aged between six months and five years.

This nonprofit program also organizes the distribution of 284 school meals to students in Karamoja. The meals include locally produced cereals, in hopes of facilitating local commerce.

Feed the Children

Since 2012, Feed the Children has provided health education to communities in northern Uganda. These services include school health programs that provide meals and vitamin supplements, as well as teaching teens about making good food choices, pregnancy and breastfeeding.

As of 2015, 274 children in early learning centers received meals through their schools, 118 children received vitamin A supplements and 302 children received deworming medicine.

Feed the Children also promotes community malnutrition detection education to increase the number of children that can access quality and timely treatment. This initiative advocates family health planning as a realistic and sustainable method to minimize hunger in Uganda.

– Casie Wilson

Photo: Flickr

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Five Facts About Hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo


The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo held their first election in 2006, and their young democratic nation has been making steady economic progress in the years since. However, research by organizations such as the World Food Programme and Action Against Hunger shows that economic progress in the DRC is not necessarily translating into improved lives for the nation’s poor. Experts suggest that acute and chronic hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the result of many factors, including the conflict in eastern regions and the government’s failure to invest in agriculture and infrastructure. Here are five facts about hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

  1. The majority of 6.7 million people suffering from hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo live in the nation’s eastern regions, in provinces such as North and South Kivu, nearby Orientale, Maniema and northern parts of Katanga. Unsurprisingly, these provinces are also the areas most affected by the ongoing ethnic and tribal anti-government conflicts in eastern Congo.
  2. Because of rampant hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo, nearly half of all children in the nation are short for their age, a medical phenomenon referred to as “stunting.” A number of factors contribute to stunted height, but the most important ones include poor feeding practices and poor maternal health before, during and after pregnancy.
  3. The ongoing conflict in eastern Congo has also driven many families away from the region, creating a huge number of internally displaced people and refugees. These people are especially vulnerable to malnourishment. The communities that host these people also become increasingly at risk to suffer food shortages.
  4. Lack of availability of clean drinking water also contributes to hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In many impoverished communities, families must walk for miles to reach the nearest clean water source, and because such a task can take up the better part of the day, most people only have enough time and strength to bring back water for themselves and their families. This leaves little available time and strength to get water for agricultural purposes, leading to food shortages.
  5. The government’s failure to invest in agriculture and infrastructure also fuels hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The most affected provinces lie in the east, the center of the ongoing conflict. Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, however, is in the western part of the country. Without proper roads, it can be difficult for hunger alleviation organizations to reach those who need aid the most. The fighting between the government and the rebels disrupts the people’s harvests and leads to more food shortages.

 

The old, ever-present geopolitical conflicts happening in eastern Congo put the young democratic nation in a vulnerable position, and the people living in the rural communities surrounding the area bear the brunt of the problems. Hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo is an example of why those who seek world prosperity should also seek world peace.

– Mary Grace Costa

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Hunger in Somalia

Situated on the Horn of Africa and plagued by a history of instability, Somalia has fallen victim to crisis after crisis. The end result has created massive hunger in Somalia. Clan warfare, droughts, famines, and the presence of terror group al-Shabab have left much of the country vulnerable and without food.

10 Facts about Hunger in Somalia:

  1. Most recently, hunger in Somalia has worsened due to a two-year drought. Of the country’s 12.3 million people, 6.2 million are severely food insecure. In addition, almost three million cannot reach their daily food requirements.
  2. This is not the first hunger crisis to occur in the country. In 2011, an estimated quarter-million people died due to a severe famine.
  3. Somalia is not the only country currently suffering from a hunger crisis. Hunger levels worldwide are at their highest in decades. Four countries, Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and Somalia, are at risk of famine.
  4. Somalia has been attempting to gain stability since the fall of dictator Siad Barre in 1991. The country has been slowly rebuilding itself, with the establishment of a transitional government in 2012 and the election of a new president on February 8.
  5. Somalia has an infant mortality rate of 13.7 percent, the third-highest in the world. Malnutrition is largely to blame, according to UNICEF.
  1. The situation is worse in rural areas, as poor rainfalls have resulted in failing crops and water shortage. As a result, nearly three-quarters of the country’s livestock has died, which harms pastoralists’ livelihoods.
  2. The drought has reduced maize and sorghum harvests to about 25 percent of past averages. Food prices in Somalia have reached near-record levels.
  3. Hunger in Somalia is also high among internally displaced populations (IDPs). Approximately 638,000 of the 1,200,000 IDPs in Somalia are struggling to feed themselves. IDPs are on the move and suffer from loss of income and reduced access to social services.
  4. Somalia has one of the world’s lowest school enrollment rates. Just 42 percent of children — 36 percent are girls — are in school. The U.N. World Food Program operates a program that provides free school meals as a way to both improve attendance and address hunger in Somalia.
  5. “Humanitarian assistance has saved lives in the drought-affected north over the past year, but as the crisis spreads we have no time to lose,” Laurent Bukera, country director of the U.N. World Food Program told the U.N. News Service. The U.N. issued an appeal for 2017 for $864 million to provide assistance to Somalis. The U.N. World Food Program has also put together a $26 million assistance plan.

Hunger in Somalia has a detrimental impact on communities and future generations. The conflict hinders the country’s progress toward establishing stability. However, understanding the facts and conditions surrounding hunger in Somalia is an essential first step in becoming a part of the solution.

– Alexi Worley

Photo: Flickr

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Five Facts About Poverty in Svalbard

Poverty in SvalbardSvalbard, the Norwegian archipelago midway between Norway and the North Pole, is the northernmost settlement in the world with a civilian population. The archipelago has a population of 2,667, and while it is a territory of the Kingdom of Norway, its policies on poverty and social welfare contrast greatly with its mainland counterpart.

  1. Residents of the archipelago are required to have a job to reside there, essentially making poverty in Svalbard illegal. In addition, residents must have a fixed place of residence, making homelessness also illegal and ensuring that residents will not freeze to death. Residents without jobs are promptly deported to the Norwegian mainland, ensuring that the population remains able-bodied and sufficiently employed.
  2. Unlike its mainland counterpart of Norway, Svalbard has no social welfare system. The government does fund a school and a hospital, but provides no safety net of welfare for its residents, keeping with its policies regarding joblessness. This keeps taxes very low on the archipelago.
  3. While Svalbard has experienced a recent increase in crime, its overall crime rate has remained low. The archipelago stands as a microcosm of society, and while its methods are not necessarily universal, according to governor Odd Olsen Ingero, it does show a clear correlation between criminal activity and joblessness.
  1. The archipelago is home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a vault designed as a fail-safe for over 1,700 genebanks worldwide. The vault currently stores over 880,000 samples of seeds in the permafrost at -18 degrees Celsius, guaranteeing that the samples will remain viable for hundreds of years.
    Contributions from nations around the world work as insurance for genetic crop variations, providing a backup in case of natural or man-made catastrophes. The vault stands as a powerful defense against hunger worldwide and has most recently been used to aid a vulnerable gene bank in Aleppo during the Syrian civil war of 2015.
  2. Prices of fresh food on Svalbard sometimes border on extortionate. Its employed population and lack of social welfare help to keep taxes on the archipelago low, but high costs of transportation and extreme weather conditions make fresh foods such as vegetables and dairy extremely expensive. In 2014, Svalbardposten reported that a one-liter carton of milk could cost the equivalent of 7 U.S. dollars,

Poverty in Svalbard is practically nonexistent, but its economic policies and small population shed light on broader social issues. And while the archipelago’s economy is small and seemingly insignificant, it provides a fascinating microcosm of larger societies and a powerful platform for research. In addition, the archipelago’s Global Seed Vault has been and will continue to be a powerful weapon against poverty and hunger worldwide.

– Chasen Turk

Photo: Flickr