WORLD HUNGER

World Hunger

World Hunger

Introduction

To lead a healthy and active life, we must have food in quantity, quality and variety sufficient to meet our energy needs and nutrition. Without adequate nutrition, children can not develop their full potential for growth and adults will have difficulty in maintaining or increasing. For the first time in 15 years, the estimated number of chronically hungry people worldwide has fallen in 2010 (Stanford, 2010). However, the 925 million people suffering from hunger or the number of children dying from malnutrition (one every six seconds) numbers remain "unacceptably high" (ibid), as published today the United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO) in a report.

According to the calculations of this body, this year there will be 98 million less than in 2009 suffering from chronic hunger, a structural problem that, despite the slight increase, not solved simply by economic growth. "Hunger is still the biggest tragedy and the biggest scandal in the world", said in a news conference in Rome, where FAO based, Jacques Diouf, director general of the UN agency. No data are lacking to prove the "scandal" referred Diouf: “Every six seconds a child dies of malnutrition-related problems” (Marchione, 2010).

Discussion

Eight hundred fifty-four million people worldwide undernourished, i.e. have less than 1,900 calories a day. Of this number, 820 million are in developing countries, in contrast to the 823 million in 1990 (Grigg, 2010). This annual report published yesterday by the FAO, United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture shows no improvement over the last ten years. At the World Food Summit in November 1996, heads of state and government from 180 countries set the goal of halving by 2015 the number of hungry people (ibid).

However, it is true that because of population growth, the proportion of undernourished people in poor countries rose from 20% in 1990-1992 to 17% in 2001-2003 (Cohen, 2010). This change is still weak. "In fact, not achieved any progress" admitted Jacques Diouf, FAO director general (ibid), for whom this fall from 3 million in the number of undernourished people in poor countries may be even statistical error.

According to the organization, "Recent trends are truly alarming"(Action Against Hunger, 2010). Show an increase of 26 million undernourished between 1995-1997 and 2001-2003, after a decline of 100 million in the 80's (ibid). The mediocrity of these results masks significant regional disparities. Asia-Pacific real progress, with the exception of North Korea, Bangladesh and Pakistan. In China alone, the number of undernourished people declined by 45 million (ibid). Latin America also registered improvements, except in Venezuela.

FAO said that the number of undernourished people increased in the Middle East, northern Africa and the African region south of Sahara. This caused the number of undernourished happen in 10 years from 169 to 206 million, when the goals set in 1996 spoke of the need to bring that figure to 85 million by 2015 (Stanford, 2010). The countries most at risk are also those who went through wars, such as Burundi, Eritrea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Republic of the ...