Hunger

Cause Overview

Today, nearly one in seven people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life, making hunger and malnutrition the number one risk to health worldwide.

Even though there is more than enough food in the world to feed the world's 6.4 billion people, the poor do not have the money to buy it or the means to produce it. Food aid can break the cycle of poverty, allowing the weak and poor to stop worrying about their next meal and build a sustainable future.

For the hungry, every day is about finding enough food to survive: farmers cannot risk trying new agricultural methods when they can barely subsist on a small patch of land; the unemployed never have a chance to learn new skills if they spend all day scraping a living on the black market; and, poverty-stricken communities hit by floods or droughts are too busy looking for food to rebuild infrastructure vital for redevelopment.

Food insecurity takes a variety of forms, including acute hunger or starvation, caused by crises like war or natural disasters; chronic undernourishment, when victims consume significantly less calories than they need to lead a healthy life; and malnourishment, when deficiencies results from food that does not include the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals.

The body compensates for this lack of energy by slowing down its physical and mental activities. A hungry mind cannot concentrate. A hungry body does not take initiative and is especially vulnerable to disease.

Source: United Nations World Food Programme, 2006