Changing economies and global currency fluctuations have made most commodities or food items dearer. There aren’t many things which we could say have become cheaper. Have we ever realized what is the value of USD 11.5 or what can we buy with this. The answer can be many a burger with a drink and fries at a burger joint, two and a half gallon of gasoline or a few gallons of milk and so on.
But now you might be thinking, why I am trying to say the obvious or something as trivial as this. Interestingly did we know that this 11.50 USD can feed a child one meal a day for a year. Yes and you heard it right.
I was fascinated how people like you and me can make such a big difference in someone’s life. When I heard about this, I started to think what is hunger? When did I have to think about my next meal? How many kids in this world suffer from hunger? And list went on.
Here are some interesting facts that I learnt during my research around some of the questions that came to my mind
Hunger as defined by Oxford dictionary 1971 is “the uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; craving appetite. Also the exhausted condition caused by want of food”.
Based on Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations 2010 report
- 925 million people in this world are hungry
- Nearly 578 millions are in Asia and Pacific area, followed by the Africa at 266 millions
- It was interesting that 19 million people in developed nations were reported to be hungry
Would we say that this is due to any shortage of food produced in the world? The answer is no. The world produces enough food to feed everyone. The principal problem is that many people in the world do not have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase, enough food. World Bank once estimated that there were an estimated 1.345 billion poor people in developing countries who live on USD 1.25 a day or less.
I wanted to know more about the hunger situation in India, were luckily I never realized what was hunger during my growing up days. Based on report published by the International Food Policy Research Institute, here are some key finding, which was interesting to know
- India ranks 66 out of 88 countries on the 2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI).
- Like the GHI, the 2008 India State Hunger Index (ISHI) is calculated using three equally-weighted indicators: the proportion of the population that is calorie deficient, the prevalence of underweight children under the age of five, and the under-five mortality rate.
- The ISHI calculates hunger levels for 17 major states in India, representing more than 95 percent of the population.
- India is home to the world’s largest food insecure population, with more than 200 million people who are hungry.
- When compared to countries in the GHI, Indian states’ rankings would range from 34th (Punjab) to 82nd (Madhya Pradesh). This indicates substantial variability among states.
- All Indian states have at least a “serious” level of hunger; there is not a single state with low or even moderate levels.
- Twelve states fall into the “alarming” category and one (Madhya Pradesh) is considered to have an “extremely alarming” level of hunger.
- India’s poor performance on the GHI is primarily due to its relatively high levels of child malnutrition and undernourishment resulting from calorie deficient diets.
- ISHI scores are closely aligned with poverty, but there is little association with state-level economic growth; high levels of hunger are seen even in states that are performing well economically.
- Improving child nutrition is of utmost urgency in most Indian states because of its large contribution to the ISHI scores. All states also need to improve strategies to facilitate inclusive economic growth, ensure food sufficiency, and reduce child mortality.
Interestingly there is a organization which is working on trying to help some of these millions of hungry children and at the same time providing them with education. Akshaya Patra is now serving mid day meal to almost 1.2 million children everyday. It could not be a better initiatives where young children are served food and they are expected to study. Atleast they can become better and strong individuals tomorrow.
Many of these will never then need to think about their next meal and can extend their support to one day eradicate the menace called Hunger. I support this cause and hope that many will join this movement.
More information www.foodforeducation.org
