Archive for category: Hunger

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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

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Feed the Future Initiative Fights Hunger in Bangladesh


Bangladesh, a primarily agricultural society, has been plagued by poverty and malnutrition for many years. The 2010 USAID-funded Feed the Future training program, however, has empowered farmers to increase their yields. The program has improved economic status and given the Bangladeshi people the means to fight back against hunger. This can particularly be seen in the life of Taroni Kanto Shikari, whose economic status improved to the point where he could send his son to school and his daughter to college.

Hunger and food insecurity continue to plague many Asian countries, and Bangladesh is no exception. The country has a population of 160 million. Over 40% of that population lives on less than one dollar per day and struggles with food insecurity. A stagnating economy, rising inflation and unpredictable natural disasters all contribute to hunger in Bangladesh. As the nation’s population grows, so does its rates of hunger and malnutrition.

Malnutrition is extremely prevalent in Bangladesh, particularly among children and pregnant women. In 2015, worldhunger.org reported that 51% of pregnant women in Bangladesh do not consume adequate amounts of vitamin A. The site also reported that over 40% of adolescent girls are iron deficient and anemic. Bangladesh also has a high wasting and stunting rate, both of which stem from malnutrition and can permanently inhibit a child’s growth.

Battling Hunger Through Education

In 2010, USAID began the Feed the Future initiative, an ongoing program that fights back against hunger and malnutrition. The program operates by equipping farmers with the tools and the knowledge to increase their crop yields. The initiative consists of training seminars to teach farmers in Bangladesh better farming techniques and to equip them with better seeds and fertilizers.

Feed the Future has been very effective towards fighting hunger in Bangladesh, as can be seen in the life of Taroni Kanto Shikari, a rice farmer from the southern region of Bangladesh. As a rice farmer, Taroni’s income is dependent upon his yield. After all, Taroni says, “Rice is our life, rice is everything.” In 2010, Taroni attended USAID agricultural training, where he learned how to increase his rice yields with better seeds, fertilizer and techniques.

As a result of Taroni’s USAID-training, his rice production practically doubled and has increased steadily by 18% each season. His rice now requires one-third less fertilizer, reducing his production costs. He is also able to produce more vegetables with these new techniques, significantly increasing nutrient intake for his family. Taroni’s income has dramatically increased, and he can now afford to send his daughter to medical school and buy a bicycle for his son to attend school.

Hunger and malnutrition in southern Asian countries such as Bangladesh are rising issues. The problem will continue to worsen as populations rise and natural disasters ravage the region. Initiatives such as USAID’s Feed the Future program, however, are operating in countries around the world to give farmers like Taroni the tools to fight back against hunger and malnutrition.

– Chasen Turk

Photo: Flickr

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Armyworm Infestation May Cause New Food Crisis in Southern Africa

Southern Africa_Food
Particular regions of southern Africa are currently grappling with food crises caused by record-setting droughts. On top of this, a new crop-eater is singling out these vulnerable areas. In doing so, the crop-eater’s presence causes concern for a new food crisis in southern Africa.

The pest is called a “fall armyworm,” though it is far more caterpillar-like than that of a worm. The first report of an infestation came from South Africa’s agricultural department in early February, when they noted its arrival and unfamiliarity.

The fall armyworm does not originate in Africa and is instead proven to come from the Americas. Experts believe the invasion may have arrived on ships of maize imported from the Americas during the El Nino between 2015 and 2016. The same El Nino jumpstarted the droughts that southern Africa is still currently wrestling through.

Farmers have likened the infestation of this new, strange pest to “one of the 10 plagues in the Bible […] It’s widespread and seems to be spreading rapidly.”

Indeed, there are several problems caused by the fall armyworm that may induce a new food crisis in southern Africa.

The Dangers

  1. While the fall armyworm feeds off of a variety of crops, such as cotton, soybean and tobacco, it is primarily targeting southern Africa’s primary food staple — maize.
  2. An armyworm-infested crop is not noticeable until it’s too late. The pest conceals itself from farmers by digging straight into the stem of the maize. Up to three-quarters of the crop can be destroyed without visibility.
  3. The worm has spread to six countries in eight weeks. The armyworms eventually develop into moths that are capable of traveling long distances. Each moth can lay up to 2,000 eggs, and each egg has a rapid life cycle.
  4. The fall armyworms are invading right on the heels of a horrific drought. A food crisis in southern Africa on top of an already-existing food shortage could be catastrophic.

Currently, the fall armyworm has traveled to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia and Mozambique. New reports are currently developing in Nigeria and Ghana. Unfortunately, the Americas—where the fall armyworm originates—first reported infestations in 1957 and have still been unable to find solutions to eradicate them. They are considered second only to the red locusts in terms of the amount of damage they are able to inflict.

The most farmers can do now is try to control the invasion through pesticides and careful watch for larva in the leaves of their crops.

In the meantime, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization is holding an emergency meeting on this matter later this week in Zimbabwe.

– Brenna Yowell

Photo: Flickr

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Six Organizations Fighting Hunger in Costa Rica

Hunger in Costa Rica
While Costa Rica is doing fairly well as an upper-class nation, there is still a portion of the country suffering from hunger. However, many organizations are able to do a number of things to reduce hunger in Costa Rica.

A group of students from the University of Costa Rica. In 2016, as part of the International Union of Food Science and Technology competition, 11 Costa Rican Food Science majors from the University of Costa Rica developed a nutritional grain called naji which can be used to make tortillas, empanadas, high-protein smoothies and cereal. The grain can help combat malnutrition in high poverty areas and can especially help improve the health of pregnant women in the Chorotega tribe in Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region.

Nadie con Hambre (No One Should Be Hungry). Nadie con Hambre is a string of non-profit Christian organizations. Their main tasks are to collect money and distribute food to low-income families in Costa Rica. One of their biggest food donations is rice; they have previously donated up to six tons of rice. Nadie con Hambre also benefits Fundacion Piedad (Mercy Foundation) which hosts six soup kitchens in low-income neighborhoods.

Costa Rica’s School Child and Adolescent Food and Nutrition Programme (PANEA).  This program is funded by Costa Rica’s central government and the Education board of each school in the country. This program is in charge of distributing healthy foods and promoting healthy eating among the students. PANEA also provides training for agricultural projects for schools to build gardens to grow their own food.

Scaling Up Nutrition. This organization promotes healthy living and nutrition in many countries, but it started operating in Costa Rica in 2014. Its main goal is to increase financial and human resources to work on malnutrition. Once Costa Rica became the fiftieth country to commit to Scaling Up Nutrition, chronic undernutrition in the country decreased.

Food for the Hungry. This federal organization fights world hunger in the name of Christian values and started its branch with Costa Rica in 2003.

ECLA World Hunger. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America helps more than 60 countries. One notable project with Costa Rica was to teach the people in El Jardin, who were working in harsh conditions and getting paid poorly, how to grow other crops and use agriculture efficiently.

There have been organizations fighting hunger in Costa Rica both internationally and regionally. Even though poverty has increased and decreased throughout the years in Costa Rica, people are still struggling, and it is important to continue to combat hunger in Costa Rica.

– Emma Majewski

Photo: Flickr

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Averting Global Food Shortages with New Fertilizer

Food
A team of scientists from Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom recently collaborated to study nanotechnology-based fertilizer delivery to crops. What they discovered has the potential to revolutionize farming worldwide, reduce environmental impact and mitigate future global food shortages.

The study, which was published in the Jan. 25, 2017 edition of American Chemical Society Nano (ACSNano), acknowledges that fertilizer prices in developing countries are substantial, and the costs often negatively impact food supply. Scientists determined that developing technology to reduce fertilizer costs was necessary, and began testing a trial fertilizer on rice farms in Sri Lanka.

The results were nothing short of impressive. Initial trials showed a 20% increase in production using about half the amount of fertilizer. These findings are a boon for future generations. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that crop production needs to increase by approximately 60% by 2050 in order to supply the world’s population and avoid global food shortages.

The Science Behind the Results

The scientists in this study didn’t reinvent the wheel. They focused their attention on urea, a common fertilizer. Although urea has been used for decades, it has major weaknesses. When urea comes in contact with water, it breaks down prematurely and cannot be efficiently absorbed by crops. Farmers then have to use more fertilizer — if they can afford it. Calling this issue a “major challenge for global agriculture” that “threatens future food security,” the team settled on a nanotechnology-based principle for fertilizer delivery. This method has wide applications in pharmaceutical delivery, and the scientists thought it showed promise.

The team combined Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with urea to create nanohybrids. Then, they applied the mixture to crops at test farms. It pleased them to discover that the nanohybrid fertilizer decomposed the urea at a slower rate than urea alone. The scientists reported that they reduced the amount of fertilizer application by 50% while increasing crop yield by more than nine percent.

Larger Harvests with a Smaller Footprint

Money isn’t the only thing saved when nanohybrids are in play. Less fertilizer applied to crops means that less washes away into bodies of water, avoiding unnecessary pollution. Gehan Amaratunga, one of the scientists on the team, says “this goes a long way to reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture…It is a Green Revolution.”

– Gisele Dunn

Photo: Flickr

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Poverty in Djibouti

Poverty in Djibouti
The small nation of Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa, is only about 9,000 square miles and has a small population of about 820,000 people. Currently, poverty in Djibouti persists as a major problem with more than 23% of those 820,000 living in conditions described as extreme poverty.

Consistent food deficits caused by Djibouti’s harsh climate make agriculture harder here than in other areas of the continent. This creates a dependence on imports to feed the population and leaves the country especially disadvantaged by drought, floods and other natural disasters. Droughts leave an exceptionally long-lasting impact in the form of crop destruction and loss of livestock. In 2011, the U.N. reported that Djibouti’s ranchers lost 70-80% of their livestock during a period in which food prices also rose 50%.

These increasing rates of malnourishment have led many to migrate away from rural areas to the capital in search of work. Today, around two-thirds of the population is condensed in Djibouti City, leaving a small percentage to farm. These factors culminate into mass poverty in Djibouti and need direct solutions as well as continued foreign support to combat. Many in Djibouti must concentrate what little income they earn towards food and basic survival at the expense of health and education. Those in the Garabtisan Village must walk 23 kilometers just to fetch water for the village, many surviving on 40 liters for up to three days at a time.

Despite its plethora of issues and dependence on foreign aid, Djibouti’s geographical position as a trade gateway to Ethiopia has spurred some economic opportunities. The International Monetary Fund estimates that real GDP increased during 2015-2016 by around 6.5%, but continued support is needed to continue this positive trend into the future. Efficient infrastructure development, political stability, and natural disaster relief remain crucial to Djibouti’s continued growth. Suffering has been alleviated by efforts such as the U.N. raising $17.4 million in response to the 2011 drought, the World Food Programme providing emergency food aid to 61,000 rural farmers and $1 million from UNICEF for Djibouti’s children.

Continued economic growth may provide more paths out of poverty and consistent foreign assistance from countries around the world can, one day, end poverty in Djibouti. Reaching out to U.S. members of Congress for continued USAID support can go a long way in giving millions the opportunities needed to become self-sufficient. Each and every person in the United States possesses the power to speak out for what matters, ending human suffering around the globe.

– Aaron Walsh

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Madagascar

Hunger in Madagascar
While Madagascar was made famous by the 2005 DreamWorks animated movie about talking zoo animals, it is also one of the world’s poorest nations, with four million people suffering from lack of food access.

Drought, cyclones, floods and locust infestation worsen the case of hunger in Madagascar. Natural disasters are likely to grow worse with the continuation of climate change. Madagascar is one of the 10 nations most vulnerable to natural disasters affecting food security and nutrition.

Those who live in southern Madagascar are most likely to suffer from hunger because the lean season takes up a much longer portion of the year. The lean season is the period of time in between the harvest and the first plant of the next season. During this time, poor farmers and their families have little food or income on which to survive.

In 2016, a drought worsened by El Niño, an irregular and complex series of climatic changes, left 1.4 million people in Madagascar desperately short on food. These people are expected to face food shortages through 2017.

Crop failure causes people to take desperate measures to survive, such as selling their livestock and farming tools and moving into the wild to forage. Over 90% of Malagasies live below the poverty line.

Chronic malnutrition affects nearly half of all the children in Madagascar under five. Hunger in Madagascar also results in stunted growth in children and high mortality rates. Anemia is one of the biggest health issues in Malagasies facing hunger, with one-third of children under five and women suffering from iron deficiency.

More than six percent of children die before they reach five years old, and 500 out of every 100,000 live births result in the mother’s death. High levels of anemia lead to this high maternal mortality rate.

Collaborative Efforts Against Madagascar’s Hunger

Despite the bleak outlook caused by hunger in Madagascar, not all hope is lost. The World Food Program (WFP) works in conjunction with 30 other organizations to relieve Madagascar’s most vulnerable regions, including the South and poor urban areas.

This is done through:

  • Providing meals, nutritional information and promoting hygiene for children in schools;
  • Empowering smallholder farmers, who own small plots of land and harvest only a few cash crops, through increasing access to markets and supporting farmers’ associations;
  • Providing relief and early recovery assistance to households affected by natural disasters;
  • Placing food in remote and disaster-prone areas before incidents are expected to occur to prevent malnutrition;
  • Distributing cash assistance and food during the 2016-2017 prolonged lean season;
  • Assessing Madagascar’s vulnerability to shocks, coordinating livelihood activities and implementing community planning exercises.

To help relieve hunger in Madagascar, you can make a donation to the WFP.

– Cassie Lipp

Photo: Flickr

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Boko Haram Causes Hunger Crisis in the Lake Chad Basin

Lake Chad_Hunger
A hunger crisis in the Lake Chad basin has unfolded since Boko Haram has left much of Nigeria and surrounding nations in ruins.

The people in the region are facing famine-like conditions due to being forced to abandon their crops to flee Boko Haram. More than eight million people in the Lake Chad basin are currently struggling with hunger. The area is plunging further into food scarcity as more crops go unharvested. Some crops are even being burned as Boko Haram raids and loots villages.

Boko Haram is a militant Islamist group that has created unrest with bombings, abductions and assassinations. Its followers believe that the Nigerian government is run by non-believers, and Muslims should be forbidden from taking part in any activities associated with Western society, including voting in elections and participating in secular education.

While the group was founded in 2002, military operations began in 2009 in an attempt to create an Islamic state. The name Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden,” when translated loosely from the Hausa language. The U.S. declared Boko Haram a terrorist group in 2013.

Boko Haram spread its military campaign into the neighboring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The U.N. estimates that 14 million people in the region are in need of humanitarian assistance.

An estimated 480,000 children across the four countries affected by Boko Haram are suffering from acute malnutrition. Basic supplies in refugee camps are scarce, and aid groups cannot reach those in villages occupied by Boko Haram as well as remote areas to offer humanitarian assistance. Of the children in critical need of assistance, U.N. officials estimate that 75,000 could die within a few months.

The hunger crisis in the Lake Chad basin is so severe that Doctors Without Borders physicians have added food to their bags of medical supplies. The U.N.’s World Food Programme delivered aid to more than one million people in December 2016, a sharp increase from the 160,000 people it assisted in October 2016. The World Food Programme is in desperate need of more funding to deliver life-saving assistance to all those in need in the region.

To help relieve the hunger crisis in the Lake Chad basin, you can make a donation to the World Food Programme.

– Cassie Lipp

Photo: Flickr