As food prices soar, the poorest populations — especially children — are the most severely affected.

Heightened food prices have forced World Vision to reduce the number of people who will receive its food assistance. World Vision is asking the United States government to increase its response to the global food crisis to ensure that we are doing all we can to address the needs of the most hungry.

(c) 2007/Amio Ascension/World Vision

Combating world hunger

Why are people hungry? | Hunger and children Hunger and AIDS
Food assistance, a tool to combat hunger | Learn more, get involved

Hunger is a daily reality for many. Even before food prices started significantly rising last year, more than 963 million people were threatened by hunger (1). Now, because of higher food prices and the global financial crisis, more than 1 billion people face extreme hunger and poverty.(2)

Recognizing the complexity of this challenge, World Vision believes that, in conjunction with other food, agriculture, and education programs, food assistance can lessen the impact of world hunger and break the cycle of extreme poverty.

Where and why are people hungry?

An estimated 907 million people who are hungry are in developing countries (1) — that's more than the population of the European Union, the United States, and Canada combined. The World Food Program says that about 75 percent of all hungry people live in rural areas, primarily Africa or Asia. (3)

Factors that contribute to food shortages include:

Poverty Natural disasters Drought War

Lack of agricultural infrastructure or policies Exploitation of the environment

Hunger is cyclical. When parents are weakened by hunger, they cannot work, grow crops, or provide for their families. And malnutrition is passed on from hungry pregnant mothers to their children.

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Hunger and children

Tragically, more than 13,000 children under five die from causes related to malnutrition every day. (4)

Pregnant women, new mothers who breast-feed, and children are among those most at risk of undernourishment. According to the World Health Organization, under-nutrition among pregnant women in developing countries leads to one out of six infants being born with low birth weight. (5)

Insufficient nutrition during critical growth phases is known to result in poor physical and cognitive development. Malnourishment can cause physical and mental stunting for life, further deepening the cycle of poverty.

Moderately underweight children are more than four times more likely to die from infectious disease than are well-nourished children. (6) And malnutrition contributes to more than half of under-five deaths worldwide, says the WHO. (7)

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Hunger and AIDS intersect

Food production has significantly decreased in countries with high HIV and AIDS prevalence rates, because most of those who are sick from AIDS are the young adults who typically harvest crops, according to the Population Reference Bureau. (8) According to the FAO, up to 25 percent of the agricultural labor force could be lost in countries of sub-Saharan Africa by 2020. (9)

Families who take in children orphaned by AIDS or take care of sick relatives will have less food available for each household member. In AIDS-affected families, food consumption in the household can drop by as much as 40 percent due to decreased productivity and earnings, leaving children at a higher risk of malnutrition and stunting. (10)

Good nutrition is vital for the health and survival of all people, but it is particularly important for people with HIV. HIV and associated diseases weaken the immune system and increase the body's need for energy. Food can provide the first line of defense in warding off the detrimental effects of disease and can help people recover from illness.

Good nutrition is not a substitute for life-extending drug therapies. But, nutritious food, in combination with safe water, good hygiene, and care, can help people with HIV stay healthier longer, adhere to drug therapies, and lead a better quality of life.

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Food assistance as a tool to combat hunger

World Vision believes that food assistance is a key tool in addressing chronic world hunger. In conjunction with other programs, food assistance can lessen the impact of world hunger and help break the cycle of extreme poverty.

Food assistance serves a wider role than just providing relief during emergencies. It helps to lessen chronic food insecurity resulting from poor economies and structural injustices compounded by corruption; it meets the nutritional requirements of those affected by HIV and AIDS; and it saves millions of people affected by world hunger who are barely meeting their daily food needs.

The United States cannot solve this problem alone. But by working with others, the number-one Millennium Development Goal to cut hunger in half by 2015 can be achieved. At the G8 meeting in Italy, more than 20 countries pledged $20 billion over the next three years and signed a Joint Statement on Global Food Security. The United States pledged $3.5 billion to this effort.

Now Congress needs to follow through on these promises by passing bipartisan legislation -- the Global Food Security Act of 2009 -- which is pending in both the House and Senate. This legislation will make a significant contribution to reducing hunger by investing in sustainable agriculture and nutrition programs.

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Learn more

• See the summer 2009 issue of World Vision magazine, Haunted by hunger.

What you can do

• Pray for those around the world who are hungry. Pray for wisdom for government leaders who are seeking effective means of addressing the food crisis.
• Send a message to your members of Congress. Ask them to cosponsor the Global Food Security Act. This legislation will make a significant contribution to reducing hunger by investing in sustainable agriculture and nutrition programs.
• Host a Broken Bread Poverty Meal. By partaking in a simple meal and reading stories that depict the realities of hunger, Broken Bread participants experience hunger and respond with their hearts and minds.
• Make a one-time donation to help provide food and care for hungry children and families.
• Become a child in crisis partner and help provide for hungry children. Every month you'll provide critical basics like nutritious food and agricultural assistance to benefit children in greatest need.

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Sources

1. FAO Number of Hungry People Rises to 963 million (December 2008)
   http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/8836/
2. 1.02 billion people hungry
   http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/20568/icode/
3. World Food Programme: Who are the hungry?
   http://beta.wfp.org/hunger/faqs#bkTHEHUNGRY
4. UNICEF State of the World’s Children, 2009
5. World Health Organization: Nutrition for health and development, 2007
   http://www.who.int/nmh/donorinfo/nutrition/nutrition_helvetica.pdf
6. United Nations Development Programme: Human development report, 2005
   http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr05_complete.pdf
7. WHO Nutrition for Health and Development 2007
   http://www.who.int/nmh/donorinfo/nutrition/nutrition_helvetica.pdf
8. Population Reference Bureau: "The Global Challenge of HIV/AIDS." The Population Bulletin Vol. 61, No. 1, March 2006
   http://www.prb.org/pdf06/61.1GlobalChallenge_HIVAIDS.pdf
9. Food and Agriculture Organization: AIDS -- a threat to rural Africa
   http://www.fao.org/FOCUS/E/aids/aids6-e.htm
10. Food and Agriculture Organization: Impacts of HIV/AIDS, 2006
    http://www.fao.org/hivaids/impacts/index_en.htm

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