Every day we wake up, take a shower, have our breakfast, drink the cup of tea or coffee and do other everyday things without realizing that a lot of people suffer from everyday cravings. They feel hunger and thirst on the everyday basis.
According to 2015 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics, the most suffering countries are the Asia: with 525.6 million people starving, Sub-Saharan Africa with 214 million, and Latin America and the Caribbean with 37 million deprived of food. It is nearly 780 million people, and according to media, the biggest part of undernourished people are women and children people (“Know Your World: Facts about Hunger and Poverty”, 2015).
Almost half of the children’s deaths under five are caused by malnutrition. The devastated small bodies cannot resist the infections which are especially active in hot countries.
According to Oxford English Dictionary the hunger is a term which has three meanings:
– The uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; craving appetite. Also, the exhausted condition caused by want of food
– The want or scarcity of food in a country
– A strong desire or craving (Oxford English Dictionary, 1971).
The regular deprivation of nourishment has dramatic results for the body, especially for the children’s body. The malnutrition results in hair loss, teeth loss, fatigue, stomach upset, indigestion and other awful diseases. As the biggest part of those who crave is the women, there are a lot of miscarriages and deliveries of dead babies. Moreover, there are incidents when people overate after a long period of starvation and died.
The main causes of such situations are:
– The poverty which is the result of bad economic system and the lack of the infrastructure and unemployment;
– Weather hazards, like droughts, floods, and tropical storms, which result in desertification, deforestation and soil erosion, which has the ominous consequences for crop species.
– The growth of the population. The scientists had warned people long ago that the resources of our Earth are running out, and soon we will face the shortage of food.
– Poorly planned and an unbalanced budget. There are people who are dying from the hunger, and there are people who throw money around.
According to The World Bank more than 1.4 billion people in the developing countries, live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 per day(“World Bank Updates Poverty Estimates for the Developing World”, 2010).
The first step must be a significant increase of the salaries so people could provide for themselves and for their families.
If due to some serious weather conditions, there is a lack of food or water, it has to be delivered to such areas in sufficient quantity.
Governments in other countries have to contribute to the development of the industrialization of the developing countries to make them independent in the future.
Some efforts have already been made and have improved the situation.
According to the data provided in 2015, 72 countries have achieved the Millennium Development target of halving proportion of the chronically undernourished, the number of hungry people in the world has dropped to 795 million – 216, the proportion of people, who are unable to consume enough food for an active and healthy life – has declined from 23.3 to 12.9 percent. The proportion of hungry people in Latin America and the Caribbean has dropped from 14.7 percent to 5.5 percent since 1990 while the share of underweight children (below 5 years of age) also declined sharply (“World hunger falls to under 800 million, eradication is next goal”, 2015).
Unfortunately, the number is still huge, and there is a lot to be done. There are a lot of women, who cannot work and provide for the families because they are not educated. They have to gain the right to get the education and a job.
As the level of education is poor in developing countries there has to be more programs that allow school leavers enter universities in the developed countries until the level of education in their countries is at least satisfactory and gives the opportunity to find a good job in the future. There are a lot of problems with hunger in families that live in poverty and have a lot of children. They are not aware of the presence of contraceptives and special education program has to be conducted in these areas.
Nevertheless, the fact that politicians are aware of the hunger in the world and do their best to eliminate this problem is rewarding. Without their contribution, the number of starving people would be much higher.
Works cited
1. “Know Your World: Facts about Hunger and Poverty”. The Hunger Project. 2015. Web. Accessed 31 Jan 2016 at http://www.thp.org/knowledge-center/know-your-world-facts-about-hunger- poverty/
2. Oxford University Press. 1971. Oxford English Dictionary. Definition for malnutrition.
3. “World Bank Updates Poverty Estimates for the Developing World”. Research at the World Bank. 2010. Web. Accessed 31 Jan 2016 at
http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?theSitePK=469382&contentMDK=21882162&menuPK=476752&pagePK=64165401&piPK=64165026
4. “World Hunger Falls To Under 800 Million, Eradication Is Next Goal”.World Food Programme.2015 Web. Accessed 31 Jan 2016 at
https://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/world-hunger-falls-under-800-million-eradication-next-goal-0