Food Security : Raise Awareness

Over 1.02 billion people in the world are undernourished. More than 90 percent of the people affected by hunger live in extreme poverty (less than a dollar a day) in developing countries. The most vulnerable populations are children under five years old and women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.

The Breakdown

What is hunger?

Hunger occurs when people do not receive a sufficient amount of calories and nutrients from food. Most people who battle hunger suffer from chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, resulting in stunted growth, weakness and heightened vulnerability to illness. This affects their long-term physical and mental health.

What are the kinds of hunger?

Undernourishment is a form of malnutrition, caused by not receiving the minimum 2,100 calories per day recommended by the U.N. World Food Program. Malnutrition involves both the quality and quantity of the food that a person receives. There are two kinds of malnutrition:

Chronic malnutrition can occur gradually, persist for generations and is the consequence of an unbalanced diet lacking in fundamental nutrients.

Acute malnutrition is a result of a rapid decrease in food intake. It is a dangerous condition that requires immediate care, increases susceptibility to disease and leads to death if treatment is not administered.

Who does hunger affect?

What causes hunger?

There is enough food in the world today for every man, woman and child to lead a healthy and productive life. However, poverty and lack of access to food are the primary reasons why malnutrition occurs in the developing world.

Constant access to sufficient, safe and nutritional food is called food security. Some of the factors that prevent food security include: disease, lack of access to water and sanitation, lack of health care, poor distribution of food, politics, low local agricultural production, the market price for agricultural goods, limited access to resources, and the quantity and quality of available food.

What are some sustainable solutions?

Fighting world hunger will require short-term interventions as well as long-term solutions. It is important to remember that it isn’t simply a matter of providing food to people in need, our goal should be to eradicate the factors that contribute to food insecurity.

It is also important that solutions lead to sustainable development which solves immediate problems without compromising the ability of future generations to access safe and nutritional food.

What is Mercy Corps doing?

Mercy Corps' food programs, whether responding to large-scale emergencies or ongoing poverty, concentrate on those who are most vulnerable and work in partnership with local community groups, businesses and government, to address the root causes of poverty and find sustainable solutions.

One such program is Mercy Corps’ Sumatra Healthy Schools Program in Indonesia, which ensures that 230,000 elementary school children have access to clean, drinkable water and protein-rich soymilk. Mercy Corps provides training for children, parents and teachers in health, nutrition and hygiene, which increases understanding and use of nutritious foods and reduces disease and infection.