hunger deaths

8/7/2019 HUNGER DEATHS

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No

PPaassttMajor hunger problems hav

dead or suffering from the e

case-studies that outline thein different countries over t

more about it.

CCaassee--ssttuuddiieess::

AArrttiicclleess::- Chinese Famine - 1958 t- Irish Potato Famine - 184

- - rth
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Korea Famine - 1995 to 1998

- South Wollo, Ethiopia Famine - multiple- Ukrainian Famine - 1932 to 1933

Case-Studies: Chinese Famine (1958 to 1961)

In recent years, famines have only occurred as a result of wars. The last majornon-war famine was the Chinese Great Leap Forward famine.

The Great Famine of China, which took place from 1958-61, is one of thegreatest tragedies of recorded history, killing between 14 and 40 million people.The typical estimate is generally placed around 30 million people. To comparethis number with other major human death tolls, World War II may have killed 80million people in total. But while these people were starving, information about

the famine was greatly suppressed and what did get out about the harvestfigures was manipulated. The true extent of what happened was only discovereddecades later by the world and it is still difficult today to find information aboutthis specific famine.

Welfare economist and winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for economicsProfessor Amartya Sen argued in the early 1980s that the severity of the

tragedy was increased by the suppression of information. He said that

censorship contributes to famine and therefore concluded that it is more

difficult for famines to occur in countries with a free press. Sen wrote,"what was lacking when the famine threatened China was a political

system of adversarial journalism and opposition.[...] Not only was the

world ignorant of the terrible state of affairs in China, even the populationitself did not know about the extent of the national calamity....''. Professor Amartya

Sen

Facts and FiguresFrom US State

Department

Land area:9,596,960 sq. km

Population:

1.251 billionAnnual growth Rate:0.93%

Infant mortality rate:37.9/1000

Literacy rate:82%

Life expectancy:70 Years

Government type:

The "Great Leap Forward" was a campaign undertaken by the

Chinese Communists in this time to organize China's vast

population and to meet its industrial and agricultural problems -they wanted to increase China's agricultural production while still

maintaining high industrial growth. The Chinese people hoped

that they would develop methods of industrialization which

would emphasize manpower rather than machines. Small steelfurnaces were built in villages which eliminated the necessity of

new factories and peasants and city workers had to abandon their

fields and factories in order to run these furnaces. The communesystem brought all rural land and major farm equipment under

collective ownership. Chairman Mao Zedong had hoped that this

effort would help his nation and people out of poverty; butinstead, the system failed and brought about a human catastrophe.
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Communist party-led state

Trade:Exports - $192 billionImports - $146 billion

Per capita income:$770

These communes turned out to be very inefficient as the large-scale diversion offarm labour into a small-scale industry disrupted the country's agriculture soseriously that many people died of starvation.

Case-Studies: Irish potato famine (1845 to 1851)

Between 1845 and 1851, Ireland's population fell from around 8 million to justabout 5 million people. This was caused by starvation, disease and emigration toAmerica.

Two million acres of potatoes began to rot in 1845 and people began to die. Anew type of fungus hit the crops, Phytophthora infestations. No one knewanything about it and so, entire crops were reduced to rotted compost in a veryshort time. The disease went into remission, only to come back in its samedevastating nature each year thereafter until 1850. The working-class peoplewere hit the hardest. 750,000 Irish were confirmed dead as a result of this potatoblight, but it is estimated that around double that many people really perished.Overpopulation and the dependency on one crop only worsened the situation.


Department

Land area:70,282 sq. km

Population:3.7 million

Annual growth Rate:Not Available

Infant mortality rate:5.5/1000

Literacy rate:98.5%

Life expectancy:75.8 Years

Government type:Parliamentary republic

Trade:Exports - $70.2 billion$46.3 billion

Per capita income:$21,887

People couldn't afford to pay their rents anymore and wereevicted by their landlords. They were forced to move to disease-

infested workhouses or to emigrate to other countries. But even

emigration was no solution for many of people - they werecrowded into little ships, later also labeled "coffin ships", and

many of them died on the way due to hunger, disease and other

causes. Usually just over half of the emigrants survived the long

journeys.

Other people, who could not afford to buy other food, were

forced to eat the rotten potatoes, contracted diseases such as

typhoid, and passed these on in their entire villages. Since noteven the priests could afford to buy coffins for the dead, they

were either not buried or just buried wearing the clothes that had

died in, so no one was really safe of disease.


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Not much could be done in those times to help Ireland. Britain provided muchrelief for Ireland's starving people, but was criticized later on for a late responseto the situation.

Case-Studies: North Korea Famine (1995 to 1998)

An estimated five million people out of a total population of 24 million aremalnourished in North Korea. This includes 800,000 children. The United Nationssays that 80,000 of these children are on the brink of starvation. About 85% arethought to be malnourished, 29% severely. The average daily ration per personis about 600 calories or about one-fourth of what the body needs to function andmaintain itself. In some areas people receive even less. Almost everyone in thecountry is impacted in some way by the famine. Those that are further from thecapital suffer greater. North Korea recently released data indicating that 220,000people died of malnutrition-related illnesses between 1995 and 1998. United

Nations officials believe that more than a million people, particularly children andthe elderly, have died.


Department


Population:23 million

Annual growth Rate:2%

Infant mortality rate:27/1000

Literacy rate:90%

Life expectancy:69.5 Years

Government type:

Highly centralizedcommunist state

Trade:Exports - $1.95 billionImports - $42 billion


The World Food Program, a division of the United Nations, has

an increasing number of food monitors on the ground in North

Korea to track food shipments. North Korea is expecting ashortfall of 2 million tons of grain - an amount proportionally

higher than experienced by Ethiopia during its famine in the mid-

1980s. People who have visited the area have said that thecondition of the children was comparable to what they'd seen inEthiopia in the mid-80s famine.

None of the credible relief organizations discriminate on the basis

of political affiliation - Ronald Reagan once said, "A hungrychild knows no politics." Some critics have said that the Stalinist

regime of North Korea is perhaps the world's least deserving

government. North Korea's million-man army makes the country

one of the most heavily armed areas in the world. And failedagricultural policies made in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital,

have contributed more to the famine than floods or drought.People must distinguish between North Korea's authorities and itsinnocent people, most of whom were born under the current

regime and none of whom have the freedom to choose their

leaders.


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Infant mortality rate:112/1000

Literacy rate:25%

Life expectancy:Not Available

Government type:Federal republicTrade:Exports - $783 millionImports - $1.65 billion


1999 as a result of starvation, as there was no rain to renew theirgrazing. A big famine could be avoided by a rush of food aid that

year, although several hundred people did die. Each year

hundreds of thousands of people require some food assistance andthe figures grow each year. In the year 2000, about 785,000 South

Wolloyes are suspected to need food aid.

The government supports a threefold strategy of improving food aid, increasingagricultural inputs, and diversification through agro-industry. Food aid systemshave improved, but they are dependent on donor head offices. Nevertheless,peasants complain that with bad harvests they can't pay back the loans forfertilizer and seeds without further impoverishing themselves. Critics say that theland division results in plots too small for a household to survive on, the re-divisions of land mean peasants feel insecure about keeping their plot so theydon't invest as much in it, and that there is an artificial block to migration becauseevery one wants to hold onto their postage stamp patch of land because it's allthey have, and they lose it without compensation if they leave.

Case-Studies: Ukrainain Famine (1932 to 1933)

The dreadful famine that engulfed Ukraine, the northern Caucasus, and the lowerVolga River area in 1932-1933 was the result of Joseph Stalin's policy of forcedcollectivization.

For the first time in the 20th century, the Ukraine declared its independence in1917. It was then incorporated into the Soviet Union within two years when theBolsheviks came to power. A revival of the Ukrainian national identity threatenedStalin's power, and he attempted to crush the Ukrainian spirit by committingmass genocide - Stalin imposed a man-made famine.


Department


Population:50 million

Annual growth Rate:

Ukraine had before been the most productive agricultural area ofthe Soviet Union. Stalin was determined to crush all traces of

Ukrainian nationalism. In 1932, Stalin raised Ukraine's grainprocurement quotas by forty-four percent. This meant that there

would not be enough grain to feed the peasants, since Soviet law

required that no grain from a collective farm could be given to theresidents of the farm until the government's quota was met.

Stalin's decision and the methods used to put it into practical


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Not available

Infant mortality rate:Not available

Literacy rate:98%

Life expectancy:71 Years

Government type:presidential-parliamentary

Trade:Exports - $11.3 billionImports - $13.1 billion


effect condemned millions of peasants to death by starvation.

Any man, woman, or child caught taking any grain from acollective farm could be, and often was, executed or deported.

Those who did not appear to be starving were often suspected ofhaving a hidden supply of grain. Party officials, with the aid ofregular troops and secret police units, waged a cruel war against

peasants who refused to give up their grain.

The death toll has been estimated between six million and seven million, whichwas approximately 20% of the population. Some people think that it is in factupwards of ten million.

Some eye-witness accounts of the Ukraine during this time:

"No domestic animals were left in the villages, and even dogs, cats and other

animals disappeared. Even sparrows were scarcely seen in the streets, everythinghad been eaten, whether living or dead. Leather footwear, sawdust, straw and

chaff were consumed. When the snow thawed in the fields the people caught

gophers, moles, mice and other rodents - all were eaten."

"That spring, there was not a household where someone had not died from

famine. Whole families died out; there was no one to dig communal graves.

Peasants mobilized by the village Soviet dug the earth with difficulty and many

died there themselves. Decomposing corpses lay in houses for weeks. Thestench spread far beyond the villages. By the beginning of June, not more than

one quarter of the population remained in the villages, but they were incapable

of any work." (Argumenty I Fatky, (Moscow) 1988, No.32)

"In some people, famine devoured all that was human in their soul and bred inits place beastly instincts... In our village, one man became insane from hunger;

he butchered, cooked and then ate, first his mother and then his wife." (Molod'

Cherkaashchyny, (Cherkasy, Ukraine) 1988, No.30)

Organizations who have helped solve the problem:

Articles:- US State Department
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Help from Organizations:US State Department

The US State Department has more than 250 diplomatic and consular posts

around the world, including embassies, consulates, and delegations andmissions to international organizations.

The Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency. It promotes U.S.objectives and interests in shaping a freer, more secure, and more prosperousworld through formulating, representing, and implementing the President'sforeign policy. The Secretary of State, the ranking member of the Cabinet andfourth in line of presidential succession, is the President's principal adviser onforeign policy and the person chiefly responsible for U.S. representation abroad.

For more than 200 years, the State Department has supported Presidents and

Secretaries of State, worked with the Congress, and served all citizens of theUnited States as they grew to become a great power. To read more about theirpast and our role in foreign affairs see 'Learning about the State Department'.

The US State Department has been heavily involved with the attempt to solve theproblem of world hunger. The following outlines what the US State departmenthas and is doing in relation to the problem.

World Food Summit, November 13-17, 1996

The U.S. Government will participate in the World Food Summit November 13-

17, 1996, in Rome. The conference, which is being convened by the Food andAgricultural Organization (FAO), will address and focus high-level politicalattention on the problems of chronic hunger and malnutrition that exist to somedegree in all regions of the world. The World Food Summit comes 22 years aftera World Food Conference stimulated international efforts to address malnutritionand global food security issues.

The Challenge

Over the past two decades, the international community has taken great stridesin reducing the numbers of chronically undernourished people in developing

countries. Today, many countries can point to significant progress on foodissues, particularly in dramatic increases in agricultural production. Nonetheless,an estimated 800 million people still live with chronic hunger and suffer frommalnutrition. Projections indicate that overall global food security will improveduring the next 10 to 20 years, although food insecurity is projected to deterioratefurther in sub-Saharan Africa and to worsen in South Asia.
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The summit will produce a Declaration and Plan of Action designed to promotepolicies and actions to combat food insecurity at all levels. The conference isexpected to address many factors that negatively influence the availability,access, and utilization of food. Apart from natural disasters, such factors include:war and civil strife; inappropriate national policies; inadequate investment in and

poor access to research and technology; barriers to trade; environmentaldegradation; unsustainable population growth rates; poverty; gender inequality;and poor health. Member states of the FAO agree that the summit shouldexamine realistic approaches to food security; it is not intended to be aboutpledging new resources, creating new financial mechanisms, institutions, orbureaucracies, nor to reopen agreements reached in other fora.

For the United States, improving global food security is an essential element ofpromoting peace and raising living standards in many regions, thus serving U.S.political, economic, and security interests. Working with other countries towardfood security is also in line with America's values and humanitarian instincts. The

U.S. believes that the work of the summit should complement the finaldocuments issued by the recently concluded series of UN global conferenceswhich began with the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and ended with the 1996 HabitatII housing and urbanization conference in Istanbul. Sustainable development --the necessity of balancing economic and environmental considerations -- was theunderlying theme of the UN global conferences.

The U.S. Approach

The U.S. delegation to the summit will be led by the U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA), and will also include senior officials from the Department of

State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Office of the U.S. TradeRepresentative. Private sector advisors, representing a broad spectrum of U.S.agricultural, food industry, and health interests, will also play a key role on theU.S. delegation. The U.S. recognizes that, though this is an intergovernmentalconference, farmers and others in the food industry bear primary responsibilityfor food production; their knowledge, investment, and economic success iscritical to progress toward food security.

USDA, in cooperation with the State Department and USAID, has been workingto raise U.S. public awareness of the summit and to assure public participation in

the preparatory process through public meetings, forums with non-governmentalorganizations, and Congressional briefings. A U.S. Country Paper produced as aresult of the consultative process establishes four primary objectives to guideU.S. participation in the summit:

Adoption of appropriate national policies by all countries as the foundationof food security at all levels;


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Assertion of the U.S. role in assisting other countries to overcome hungerand malnutrition through U.S. leadership in agricultural, fisheries, andtrade policies; development assistance; agricultural research; long-termenvironmental forecasting; and, as necessary, food aid;

Promotion of the critical role of sustainable development in the agriculture,

forestry, and fisheries sectors in achieving food security; and Recognition of the essential role of women, population stabilization,

education, and health in the food security equation.

Specifically, in pursuit of the objectives defined in the U.S. Country Paper, theU.S. intends to:

Share its expertise with selected countries wishing to review and changetheir national policies to improve food security.

Enhance U.S. Government support for research and technologydevelopment in agriculture and related sectors, both at home and abroad.

Continue support for food security through the use of agriculturalprograms, development assistance, and food aid. Work with all countries to achieve freer trade, recognizing that the

broadest possible market participation is the best formula for maximizingbenefits to consumers and producers.

Continue support for international efforts to respond to and preventhumanitarian crises that create emergency food aid needs.

Continue efforts to encourage and facilitate implementation of foodsecurity-related actions adopted at recent international conferences orestablished in recently agreed-to conventions.

Work within the multilateral system to enhance global approaches to food

security. Continue to work toward food security for all Americans.

Those countries that have demonstrated the most progress in achieving foodsecurity are those that have seriously pursued policy reform, macroeconomicstabilization, and structural adjustment, while focusing government activities onpublic goods investment and provision of safety nets. Such commitment andassumption of responsibility at the national level create a climate conducive toprivate and public investment. Developed and developing countries alike shouldwork in partnership to achieve this climate, taking into account the particularcircumstances of each individual country. The United States stands ready to joinin a new kind of partnership with all countries prepared to take the difficult stepsnecessary to meet and surmount the challenge of conquering world hunger.

Careers at the State Department

One way you could help to fight the problem of world hunger is to work for the USState Department as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO). As a FSO you would beworking on the front lines using diplomatic skills to bring peace to countries


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where hunger is a problem which would allow organizations to come into thecountry and work directly with the people in helping them to solve their ownproblems. You would also be directly involved in setting up those missions andhelping to establish programs around the world.

Foreign Service Officer (FSO) Overview

Foreign Service Officers can be sent anywhere in the world, at any time, to servethe diplomatic needs of the United States. They are the front-line personnel of allU.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic missions.

Historically, FSOs have been generalists who could expect to be assigned tovarious kinds of jobs, in different parts of the world in the course of their careers.For most FSOs, this is still the case.

But international affairs has changed. Today, the Foreign Service seeks

candidates interested in more than political science or international relations tohelp take American diplomacy into the 21st century; we need people who canmanage programs and personnel. Also transnational issues will characterize thediplomacy of the future. Among these new priorities are: science and technology,including the global fight against diseases such as AIDS, and efforts to save theenvironment, anti-narcotics efforts and trade.

The US Department of State also has an increasing need for candidates withtraining and experience in administration and management. The Department ofState requires that applicants select a "Functional Area of Specialization," or,"cone" when applying to take the written examination. . The Foreign Service

cones are: Administrative, Consular, Economic, Political and Public Diplomacy.

For more information about why diplomacy is so important to ending hunger,read the How hunger can be solved: Government involvement article.

Present

Every day around 24,000 people die directly fromhunger or hunger related diseases - an unbelievable

amount. This area outlines why the problem isoccurring, where it is occurring and to what extent.Please choose an article from below to continue.

Why hunger is occuring:
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Articles:- Natural problems

- Economic issues- Social reasons

Why hunger is occurring: Natural problems

Believe it or not, there's plenty of food to go around on this planet. In fact, there'senough for every single person to have about five pounds of food per day. Sowhat's the problem?

Most of this food is produced in developed nations, like

the United States. For it to get to countries that need it,there are huge expenses in packaging, transporting, and

distributing this food. A survey of all costs involved in

producing a loaf of bread and delivering it to a UK retailstore found that less than one third of energy was spent

growing and milling the wheat. Getting it to market,

including packaging and transportation accounted for

almost all of the remaining two thirds of energy needed.Machin

e packages orange juice into bottles

Reducing these costs should be simple: reduce or eliminate the transportationcosts. If food is produced closer to where it is needed, costs are much lower. Thedictionary (www.m-w.com) defines "arable" as: fit for or used for the growing ofcrops. Arable land, therefore, is land that can be used to produce food. Somecountries have been thought to have very little arable land. This could be for many

reasons, including the soil could be too hard, temperature could be too extreme, orthere might not be enough water in the area. Some say that the amount of arableland is decreasing through processes like erosion. One economist, Julian Simon,thinks otherwise:

"The potential for creating new land has increased as

knowledge, machinery, and power sources have improved.At one time, most of Europe could not be planted, because

the soils were 'too heavy.' When a plow that could farm the

heavy soil was invented, much of Eurpoe suddenly becamearable in the eyes of the people who lived there. Most of

Ireland and New England were once too hilly and stony forfarming, but with effort the stones were removed and theland became 'suitable for crops' [] In the twentieth century,

bulldozers and dynamite have cleared out stumps that kept

land from being plowed. And in the future, cheap

transportation and desalination may transform what are nowdeserts into arable lands. The definition of 'arable' changes as

technology develops and the demand for land rises. Hence
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any calculation of 'arable' land should be seen for what it is -a rough estimate without permanent force."

New land is being made available through continually developing technologies.Sometimes, then, the problem is that the land is not being used efficiently enough.

Food production per hectare has soared in the last fifty years. More countries arebeginning to use fertilizers.

Asian Farmer in paddy field

Some methods of food production are more efficient than

others naturally. Beef production takes about 10 to 20 calories

of energy (fuel, feed, etc.) to produce 1 calorie of food. (Somegroups, such as VEGFAM, believe that vegetarianism is a

solution to world hunger.) Typical US corn production takes

about 1 calorie of energy (fuel, fertilizer, etc.) to produce 1calorie of food. Dry-land Asian rice culture averages using 1

calorie of energy (human labor) to produce 20 calories of

food. The range of efficiency here is clear.

When food can be produced in greater quantities more efficiently in areasgeographically closer to where it is needed, costs for this food are reduced. Whenfood costs less, more people can buy sufficient amounts to feed themselves andtheir families.

Why hunger is occurring: Economic issues

Some factors which help keep hunger conditions from improving are simply

economic conditions in an area. Many times, the food is there for citizens to buy,but they simply don't have or earn enough to buy it. Also, money frequently doesn'tstay inside of the country, which again hurts the economy and the government'sability to improve the region.

One problem is that some of the world's poorest countries

owe hundreds of billions of dollars in debt to many of the

more developed countries. This restricts the ability of thegovernment to spend money to improve local conditions

because the government instead spends money repaying

other governments. Many are calling for the developed

countries to cancel their debt, which would mean that the lessdeveloped country would not have to repay it. For more

information, read the World Debt Cancellationarticle.Campaigners protesting to 'Drop the

debt'.

Also, some large multinational companies will send all of their profits from a lessdeveloped region back to their main headquarters, in a more developed country.This takes more money out of the economy of the less developed country, and
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simply adds more to the great imbalance of economic strength. If these companiesinstead invested in all regions and tried to keep money in the economy of the lessdeveloped country, it would overall cause growth of the country's economy, which

would in turn help everyone. Companies need to realize that in order to makemore money in these less developed regions, they must invest more as well.

Because of all of this money flowing out of these less developed countries, there isvery little left to establish an economic infrastructure. The lack of basic marketslocally simply requires more money to be sent out of the country. Putting an end tothis requires a strong investment in the region from companies, governments, andindividuals consisting not only of money, but also time and experience.

Why hunger is occurring: Social reasons

Often, the root of hunger in a particular country is not simply

that they can't afford it. Many times, it is that there areunderlying cultural beliefs which prevent progress. When

members of a society are impeded from contributing all that

they can with due respect, the potential improvement of that

society is equally impeded. People are being restricted fromhelping their communities not because they are physically or

economically restrained, but are instead limited by the often

deeply rooted social structures and 'rules,' official or unofficial.A women completes her homework in-

between classes

I spoke with Lee Traband, on the staff of The Hunger Project (www.thp.org) aboutsome of the unique principles that the organization works by. She said that THPbelieves in helping to spur a "society-wide transformation," where in most caseschanges need to be made all over the social, political, and economic ladder.

"You can tell thecondition of a nation bylooking at the status of

its women."

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru(prime minister of India 1947-

1964)

After returning from a recent visit to India, Lee described what

conditions have been like. "In India and Bangladesh, women

[have been] considered subhuman." Womens' sole job for

centuries past has been to take care of their family. India'shereditary caste system, formed in about 1500 BC already

subjugated many of these women, but they were still valued less

than the men in their same caste.

Lee added that when the group from The Hunger Project, including herself, wentto speak to a small village, the men all sat in front and all of the women in theback. The president of The Hunger Project, a women herself, chastised the village,and forced the group to mix men and women. It was considered "radical" for menand women to sit together, and imagine how radical it would then be for men andwomen to work together!
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In other areas where THP had already been working for a while,

Lee said that "Women [now] take charge and address issues"

that are important to them. One of the key philosophies of TheHunger Project is "Indigenous Leadership," motivating the local

residents to decide for themselves what needs to be improved in

their communities, instead of some foreign charity abroad. Leesaid that now, 1/3rd of the village council in made of women,

and women "emerge from their huts and become great public

leaders." THP helps these newfound leaders by connecting themwith resources that can help them or providing what's missing.

Lee said that the people themselves know what they need the

most, whether it's healthcare, education, medical assistance, or

anything else.

"I was told Indian womendon't think like that aboutequality. But I would liketo argue that if they don't

think like that theyshould be given a realopportunity to think like

that."

Parmita Shastri, Outlook India,1998

The Hunger Project has focused on the subjugation of women in India to endinghunger in the region. Such dramatic changes to the social infrastructure of India

are making progress and empowering half the population to take action. From TheHunger Project website:

"In South Asia - like in many developing countries - society

holds women responsible for all the key actions required to

end hunger: family nutrition, health, education, foodproduction and - increasingly - family income. Yet at the same

time - through laws, custom and tradition - women are denied

the resources, the information and freedom of action they need

to carry out these responsibilities. This situation holds hungerin place."

Womenlearning how to use their new food

sorting machine in Senegal

It's not that women are incapable of making progress, or

that they do not want to. It's that they are restricted bytheir own culture. Changes to this social structure affect

every level of humanity, and while often it is hard to

change traditions that have been set for over 3000 years,

social changes are among the most important changesthat must be made to establish a stable, hunger-free

world.

The world hunger problem:

Articles:

- Where hunger is & isn't occuring- Current campaigns to solve the problem

- Facts, figures and statistics on hunger
http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/where.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/who.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/stats.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/where.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/who.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/stats.htm


16/27

The world hunger problem: Countries affected by hunger

The map below shows the world hunger problem byshowing the prevalence of undernourishment in each

country. Prevalence of undernourishment ismeasured by the share of a country's total population

that is undernourished. The higher the prevalence,

the more widespread the problem. To help analyseand monitor progress, five prevalence categroies

have been established and are shown to the right of

this text.

The 5 prevalence categories used in the problem mapbelow.

The following links allow you to compare individual countries' national statistics, totry and draw conclusions about why particular countries have a hunger problemand why others don't and what charactorizes a country that has a low or highprevalence value.

AfghanistanBangladesh

Brazil

CanadaChina

Eritrea

EthiopiaFrance

GermanyIndia

Italy

JamaicaJapan

Mali

Mexico

MozambiqueNiger

North Korea

RussiaRwanda

Ukraine

United Kingdom

The world hunger problem: Current campaigns
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We've described many issues causing hunger, and you can take a look at differentways hunger can be solved (see solutions to world hunger). There are manydifferent organizations fighting hunger today, but for the most part, they can beclassified into two main groups.

I frequently see canned-food drives at my school. Students are asked to bring incanned goods and they are accumulated and sent off somewhere. The problemwith this method of ending hunger is that providing food is not a long-term solution.It forces the people who receive this food to become reliant on it, instead of onthemselves.

The other type of organization is that which believes in making a country reliant onitself. Organizations like The Hunger Project believe in "society-widetransformation" led by "indigenous leadership," says Lee Traband on its staff.These organizations work to build infrastructure that will allow a country to be self-

sufficient, and not rely on other countries for aid. This is a long-term solution whichallows the country to survive without foreign charity.

Many of these organizations are similar in their core beliefs, but differ on how toachieve them. Take a look at their websites, and let us know what you think mightwork best by using the 'Reader's comments and developments of this article'feature.

Action Centre La Faim (Action Against Hunger)

ADRAAfricare

America's Second HarvestAmerican Red Cross

AmeriCares FoundationBread For The World

CARECatholic Relief Services

Congressional Hunger Center

Educational Concerns For Hunger OrganizationFeinstein Petition To End Hunger

Food First - The Institute For Food And Development PolicyFood For The Hungry

Foodchain - The National Food-Rescue Network

Freedom From Hunger

Future HarvestHeifer Project InternationalThe Hunger Project

InterActionInternational Rescue Committee

International Service AgenciesLutheran World Relief

MAZONNetAid
http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/future/index.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/www.thp.orghttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/cgi-bin/extrainfo.cgi?prog=showhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/cgi-bin/extrainfo.cgi?prog=showhttp://www.acf-fr.org/http://www.adra.org/http://www.africare.org/http://www.secondharvest.org/http://www.redcross.org/http://www.americares.org/http://www.bread.org/http://www.care.org/http://www.catholicrelief.org/http://www.hungercenter.org/http://www.echonet.org/http://www.feinsteinfoundation.com/http://www.foodfirst.org/http://www.fh.org/http://www.foodchain.org/http://www.freefromhunger.org/http://www.futureharvest.org/index.shtmlhttp://www.heifer.org/http://www.thp.org/http://www.interaction.org/http://www.intrescom.org/http://www.charity.org/http://www.lwr.org/http://www.mazon.org/http://www.netaid.org/http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/future/index.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/www.thp.orghttp://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/cgi-bin/extrainfo.cgi?prog=showhttp://www.acf-fr.org/http://www.adra.org/http://www.africare.org/http://www.secondharvest.org/http://www.redcross.org/http://www.americares.org/http://www.bread.org/http://www.care.org/http://www.catholicrelief.org/http://www.hungercenter.org/http://www.echonet.org/http://www.feinsteinfoundation.com/http://www.foodfirst.org/http://www.fh.org/http://www.foodchain.org/http://www.freefromhunger.org/http://www.futureharvest.org/index.shtmlhttp://www.heifer.org/http://www.thp.org/http://www.interaction.org/http://www.intrescom.org/http://www.charity.org/http://www.lwr.org/http://www.mazon.org/http://www.netaid.org/


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Oxfam America

Oxfam InternationalPovertyNet

RESULTSSave The Children Federation

Share Our StrengthTechnoServe

United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)World Emergency Relief

World Vision

The world hunger problem: Facts, figures and statistics

In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 millionpeople are living in what the World Bank has called "absolute poverty"

Every year 15 million children die of hunger For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch

every day for 5 years Throughout the 1990's more than 100 million children will die from illness

and starvation. Those 100 million deaths could be prevented for the price often Stealth bombers, or what the world spends on its military in two days!

The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-third is starving- Since you've entered thissite at least 200 people have died of starvation. Over 4 million will die thisyear.

One in twelve people worldwide is malnourished, including 160 million

children under the age of 5. United Nations Food and Agriculture The Indian subcontinent has nearly half the world's hungry people. Africa

and the rest of Asia together have approximately 40%, and the remaininghungry people are found in Latin America and other parts of the world.Hunger in Global Economy

Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - a majority of humanity - live on lessthan $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceedingthe combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world'speople. UNICEF

3 billion people in the world today struggle to survive on US$2/day. In 1994 the Urban Institute in Washington DC estimated that one out of 6

elderly people in the U.S. has an inadequate diet. In the U.S. hunger and race are related. In 1991 46% of African-American

children were chronically hungry, and 40% of Latino children werechronically hungry compared to 16% of white children.

The infant mortality rate is closely linked to inadequate nutrition amongpregnant women. The U.S. ranks 23rd among industrial nations in infantmortality. African-American infants die at nearly twice the rate of whiteinfants.
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/http://www.oxfam.org/http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/index.htmhttp://results.action.org/http://www.savethechildren.org/http://www.strength.org/http://www.technoserve.org/http://www.unicef.org/http://www.wfp.org/http://www.children-us.org/http://www.wvi.org/http://www.oxfamamerica.org/http://www.oxfam.org/http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/index.htmhttp://results.action.org/http://www.savethechildren.org/http://www.strength.org/http://www.technoserve.org/http://www.unicef.org/http://www.wfp.org/http://www.children-us.org/http://www.wvi.org/


19/27

One out of every eight children under the age of twelve in the U.S. goes tobed hungry every night.

Half of all children under five years of age in South Asia and one third ofthose in sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished.

In 1997 alone, the lives of at least 300,000 young children were saved by

vitamin A supplementation programmes in developing countries. Malnutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a

proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death About 183 million children weigh less than they should for their age To satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements would cost only

US$13 billion- what the people of the United States and the EuropeanUnion spend on perfume each year.

The assets of the world's three richest men are more than the combinedGNP of all the least developed countries on the planet.

Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger

and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from iteach year.

Future

The problem of world hunger, particularly chronic persistent

hunger, can be solved - even within our lifetimes. This areaoutlines some of the many ways that hunger can be solved,

from distribution techniques to education. Please choose an

article from below to continue.

How hunger can be solved:

Articles:- Distribution

- World debt cancellation- Peace negotiations

- Education- Technology's part

- Government involvement

How hunger can be solved: Distribution
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20/27

The amount of grain produced in the world today could

provide each person on the planet with the equivalent of

two loaves of bread per day. Our current food productioncould feed 7 billion people - compare that to the 6 billion

people who live on the Earth and it seems there shouldn't

be a problem. However, it is evident from the number ofdeaths and suffering that is evident in the world, that

hunger still persists. Women processing grain in Africa.

The problem lies in the distribution of the world's food. The majority of food isproduced in economically more developed countries such as USA, but thosecountries that are really in need of their share of the food to solve their hungerproblems, cannot afford the high prices that these farmers charge and can getfrom other richer countries.

Foodaid arrives to hunger stricken areas.

The way to solve the problem of distribution is to

encourage national governments and state departments tosubsidize the purchase of food by less economically

developed countries. In this way, the less economically

developed countries are able to increase their food

supplies, while the farmers are still able to gaincompetitive prices for their produce.

Alternatively, food given as aid to hunger stricken areas often occurs, althoughthis is a short-term solution to the problem and doesn't provide for the long-term

prevention of the problem.

How hunger can be solved: World debt cancellation

52 of the world's poorest countries (of which 37 are in Africa) owe a total of $376billion in debt. The repayments for this huge amount of money take up a verylarge portion of each country's income to, leaving them with little left to helpthemselves and solve their hunger problems.

Campaigners protesting to 'Drop

The areas where chronic persistent hunger occurs need capital

and resources to develop and implement schemes to help solve

their problems. Cancelling world debt would provide thesecountries with the ability to help themselves, such as being able

to develop their economy in order to safeguard against future

hunger problems, develop and import technologies to begin and

increase the amount of output from their arable land or helpfund imports of food from abroad, helping to solve the

redistribution problem.
http://www.dropthedebt.org/


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the debt'.

The G7 (Group of seven), the seven countries with the largest economies in theworld, pledged to cancel $100 billion of this debt in June 1999. An impressivefigure, but actually, lending governments already know they are not going toreceive most of this $100 billion back and have made provisions to cover theirlosses. So although this is a good start, in many countries it will have nosignificant impact on their payments - it is cost-free, and also benefit-free. If thedebt being cancelled is debt that could never have been paid anyway, this willhave little impact on the repayments for poor countries.

Many countries are pledging to cancel 100% of the debt owed to them if certainconditions are meet. For example, an extract from a speech Bill Clinton made onOctober 12th 1999, archived on the US State Department's website says:

"Last month, I went even further, announcing that theUnited States will forgive 100 percent of the debt owed us

by the world's least developed countries if they will use thesavings to address basic human needs. And I committed

the United States to a new effort to accelerate thedevelopment of vaccines for diseases that devastate the

developing world." - Bill Clinton

You can help these poorer countries by supporting and helping

those groups and individuals who are trying to convince their

governments to cancel world debt. Your support could give a debtfree start to 1 billion people, and help to solve the world's hunger

problem. Alternatively you can support online by clicking a button

at http://www.thehungersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/HungerSite, whereadvertisers will donate 1 1/2 cups of staple food to a hungry person. Help the hungry: click the

image to donate some freefood.

How hunger can be solved: Peace negotiations

War, particularly civil war is one of the major causes for hunger to persist in acountry. Often civil war is started due to the lack of food, and terrorist groupstrying to gain enough food as not to starve.
http://www.thehungersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/HungerSitehttp://www.thehungersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/HungerSite


22/27

Countries such as Ethiopia have suffered civil

unrest in time of particular hardship and

hunger. The problem of civil war also often

prevents aid entering or reaching those areaswhich are in need of it. As a result, chronic

persistent hunger takes a grip and people start

to die.

Soldier guards UN food convoy

The problem of war also diverts much needed government funds from helping tosolve their hunger problems to funding arms and the war process. Consequently,there is little money to fund equipment and technology to increase food supplies,or to afford imports of food from abroad.

Peace negotiations in hunger stricken areas help to allow aid in and the countryto focus its time and resources onto solving their hunger problems. War is anunneeded, resource wasting activity that causes many thousands of people tosuffer chronic persistent hunger - if only the leaders of these terrorist groupscould see it.

Bill Clinton overseeing anothersuccessful peace negotation

Important leaders representing many governments play a major

role in these peace processes. It is in the world's interest for thereto be peace, as trade can continue and resources can be used for

productive reasons. Often peace cannot be negotiated without a

neutral third party to oversee the process - it is vital therefore forexternal world leader to get involved. Without this vital

involvement, peace among people often cannot occur and the

problem of chronic persistent hunger just gets worse.

How hunger can be solved: Education

In 500 BC, an anonymous Chinese poet wrote:

If you are thinking a year ahead, sow seed

If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree

If you are thinking one hundred years ahead, educate the people

By Sowing a see once, you will harvest once

By planting a tree, you will harvest tenfold

By educating the people, you will harvest one hundredfold


23/27

Education of people, particularly women, has

been proven to help solve the problem of

chronic persistent hunger. When people

understand the reasons why there is hunger intheir country, and the solutions that can help

eradicate it, the problem can be solved much

easier and quicker.

Women work together to plant seeds and pick crops inan attempt to solve their hunger problems.

Many of the people living in countries where chronic persistent hunger isoccurring, want to help to sort out their problem. Education of the people allowsthem to focus their time and energy on projects more efficiently, and help to

make them a success.

A good example is where the problem of a rapidly expanding population isquickly outgrowing resources and food supplies available. In countries like China,people have been educated about the consequences if they're populationproblem isn't solved; chronic persistent hunger being an example. They areshown the ways they can help maintain a higher standard of living, such as byhaving only one child.

Women learn about thereproductive system

People can also be educated about other issues and areas

besides those already mentioned. For example, people can beeducated about how to use farming machinery more

efficiently or be trained how for jobs in factories. These

aspects of education, not only help the person benefitingdirectly from it, but also help to develop the economy,

brightening the country's future.

How hunger can be solved: Technology's part

Chronic persistent hunger can also occur in a country due to the current inability

to produce enough food from the available arable land to meet the requirementsof the ever expanding population. When this occurs, often in less economicallydeveloped countries, then food supplies can fall below the required level andoften the country cannot afford to import food to cover the deficit.


24/27

Malthus' theory on hunger

The problem was first highlighted by Thomas Malthus, aBritish economist in 1798. Malthus said that human

population grows at a geometric or exponential rate, i.e. 1-

>2->4->8->16->32 etc, whereas food supplies, at best,

only increases at an arithmetic rate, i.e. 1->2->3->4->5etc. (Show in diagram). This theory highlights a major

problem: population will expand greater than food

supplies, and mass starvation would prevail.

However, Malthus' theory has yet to come true. So far, on aglobal scale the world's population has increased at a

tremendous rate as predicted by Malthus, but technologicaladvances have increased food supplies to feed every mouth,something that Malthus couldn't have predicted.

Tho

mas Malthus

These technological advances have included the wide use of artificial fertilizersand the rapid developments in mechanization (the use of machines in theproduction of food). In the last 25 years, technological advances have lead tofood production growing at an annual rate of 2.8%, whereas population growing

at an annual rate of 2.0%.

Farmerusing traditional farming technique to plough his

field using donkeys.

These technological advances have included the

wide use of artificial fertilizers and the rapiddevelopments in mechanization (the use of

machines in the production of food). In the last 25

years, technological advances have lead to foodproduction growing at an annual rate of 2.8%,

whereas population growing at an annual rate of

2.0%.

However, on a more local scale, economically more developed countries wheretechnological advancement can be easily funded and developed, there has beena much greater gap between the difference between annual increase foodproduction compared to rate of population expansion. The less economicallydeveloped countries, where governments and businesses are unable to afford todevelop or import technologies, has meant the annual increase in food


25/27

production has been less than the rate that the population has been expanding.The result: chronic persistent hunger in less economically developed countries.

The Green Revolution refers to the application of modern, Western-type, farmingtechniques to developing countries. However, it can only occur where funding

has been provided to allow developing countries expand their food productionmethods. A lot has been done in recent years to solve the problem, and in somecases chronic persistent hunger has been completely eradicated.

However, it is widely believed that technological advances from previous yearshave reached their limits, now being unable to expand food yields much further.This has brought about the need for new technologies to be developed.

An excellent example is Biotechnology - the idea ofgenetically modifying crops in an attempt to increase

yields from crops and livestock even more in the future.

However, this technology is still in development and noteveryone is certain that it is safe - not only from an

environmental point of view, but also regarding the effects

on humans. Making crops resistant to diseases and

parasites is obviously the next step to increase yields, butthe wider effect of the technology, such as the possible

chance of causing slight mutations that weren't intended to

occur may cause concern. For example, chemical companyMon Santo has developed a strain of oil seed rape, which is

immune to their own brand of weed killer used to cleanse

fields. This will have the effect of having nothing for

insects to feed on, no insects, no birds and so on -something that is not desirable for the security of the

future.

Strip ofDNA - the item at the heart of genetic

modification.

Helping the hungry - using theInternet to promote their

cause.

Technologies that don't directly apply to the production of food,such as the Internet are also helping solve the problem of chronic

persistent hunger. The Internet is an ideal medium to broadcast

information about the problem that the general public wouldn'thave otherwise received. Such technologies broaden the

awareness of such problems, and help persuade people to support

the cause.

Technology, as you can see, is a very important factor in helping to solve theproblem of chronic persistent hunger throughout the world. You can help bymaking use of the technology in front of you. Write to your friends using email,support online campaigns and research more into the problem using the Internet.The problem cannot be solved without the support of people like you.


26/27

How hunger can be solved: Government involvement

The problem of chronic persistent hunger lies mainly within the developing world,in particular India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria where over half ofthe problem lies. The only way these countries can solve the problem of hunger

in their countries is by getting support from the developed world.

Governments have played a major role helping to end the problem of hunger,and will continue to in the future. There are many areas in which government andstate involvement can make a difference, and many governments have done so.

The main area in which governments can help is by providing aid to the countriesthat are in greatest need of it. However, corruption and mismanagement is amajor problem in these countries. Often aid schemes end up not helping to solvethe problem at all - either due to corrupt officials extracting funds to support theiraffluent life styles or by the funds being spent on schemes that are obvious

failures.

The US State Government has played a major part in the development of ascheme to help prevent these issues whereby aid is given in a food-for-workagreement.

"Beyond the provision of emergency food aid, WFP targetspeople in poor countries at the most vulnerable times of

their lives: in childhood, during maternity, and in old age.In addition, WFP promotes self-reliance through food-for-

work projects, paying workers with food to build roads,replant forests, and replace worn out infrastructure. The

U.S. is WFP's largest supporter ($642 million in 1995,mainly in food commodities), followed by the European

Commission ($221 million) and the Netherlands ($154million)."

- US Bureau of International Organization Affairs, July 15,1997

Schemes like these help countries, not only with their short term requirement offood, but also to help them develop and provide for their future. Improving thecountry's transport system and national resources help their economy develop,which in turn helps to solve their long-term food supply problems. Often, thesepeople are rebuilding their country after a civil war that started due to food supply

problems has destroyed it. Sometimes, the people who are trying to help thesepeople solve their hunger problems are targeted themselves.

"Their violence could not and did not make America shrinkfrom the world. Instead of giving in to those who wish us

harm, we have stayed engaged - to promote freedom and

opportunity, fight hunger and disease, build peace andstability, and, thereby, protect our national interests. "


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-The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (LittleRock, Arkansas)

Governments, particularly the US State government, are dedicated to bringpeace in countries, not only to stop the needless loss of life, but also to help themto solve their hunger problems.

"For the United States, improving global food security is anessential element of promoting peace and raising living

standards in many regions" - Bill Clinton, World Food

Summit, November 13-17, 1996

Diplomacy is an essential part of solving the hunger problem. Fighting,particularly civil unrest is often started over food shortages - with everyone tryingto get enough food to support their social groups. However, the very act of war isa major restraint on solving the actual problem. It diverts much need funds fromdeveloping the economy, technology and food supplies to purchasing arms.

Often, it also prevents aid entering a country, making the problem even worse.The help of international community is essential to stopping the violence, andstarting to solve the problem of chronic persistent hunger.

hunger deaths

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