In 1991, the world’s nations committed themselves to a target of reducing the percentage of undernourished people in the world to half by 2015. As the end of 2015 draws near, it bears taking stock to see what progress we have made as regards world hunger.
Statistics provided by NGO’s and Government bodies committed to coming up with and applying world hunger solutions, confirm that the percentage of people suffering from and succumbing to hunger has indeed been reduced by a wide margin during the last two decades.
But these figures also make it clear that there is still a long way to go and the world is by no means ‘in the clear’ as far as hunger and undernourishment go. A review of these facts and figures also brings to fore the deplorable conditions that many children in the developing world have to suffer and the appalling number of children who succumb to an empty stomach each year. The need to create concrete strategies to end childhood hunger and apply them swiftly is dire.
In the modern world where many of us are enjoying the benefits of technological and medical marvels, millions are dying as a consequence of lack of sustenance. The very basic amenities of human existence are denied them.
An alarming number of people (almost a billion!) still suffer from the detrimental effects of hunger. By a substantial margin, the worst hit geographical region in this respect is the Asia – Pacific, with every 2 out of 3 people suffering from undernourishment residing in this region. It is hardly surprising since the majority of the world’s population inhabits this part of the world.
Although efforts in the last twenty years have greatly reduced the percentage of undernourished people in the world, the dream of a hunger free world is still distant. The prime contributor as always to the hunger problem is poverty. Hence the stark difference between the number of the undernourished in the developed and developing world.
In a globalised world, international economic policies, more than ever, affect the fortunes of all nations. And more often than not these policies are bent to the will of the powerful and wealthy countries.
It falls upon the political and economic leaders of the world then, to create and impose policies that will uplift the world’s poor and continue the fight against world hunger.
Though many agencies, both government and private, are conducting efficient programs to reduce the problem still, there is a long way to go before the world can sleep with a full stomach.
Statistics provided by NGO’s and Government bodies committed to coming up with and applying world hunger solutions, confirm that the percentage of people suffering from and succumbing to hunger has indeed been reduced by a wide margin during the last two decades.
But these figures also make it clear that there is still a long way to go and the world is by no means ‘in the clear’ as far as hunger and undernourishment go. A review of these facts and figures also brings to fore the deplorable conditions that many children in the developing world have to suffer and the appalling number of children who succumb to an empty stomach each year. The need to create concrete strategies to end childhood hunger and apply them swiftly is dire.
In the modern world where many of us are enjoying the benefits of technological and medical marvels, millions are dying as a consequence of lack of sustenance. The very basic amenities of human existence are denied them.
An alarming number of people (almost a billion!) still suffer from the detrimental effects of hunger. By a substantial margin, the worst hit geographical region in this respect is the Asia – Pacific, with every 2 out of 3 people suffering from undernourishment residing in this region. It is hardly surprising since the majority of the world’s population inhabits this part of the world.
Although efforts in the last twenty years have greatly reduced the percentage of undernourished people in the world, the dream of a hunger free world is still distant. The prime contributor as always to the hunger problem is poverty. Hence the stark difference between the number of the undernourished in the developed and developing world.
In a globalised world, international economic policies, more than ever, affect the fortunes of all nations. And more often than not these policies are bent to the will of the powerful and wealthy countries.
It falls upon the political and economic leaders of the world then, to create and impose policies that will uplift the world’s poor and continue the fight against world hunger.
Though many agencies, both government and private, are conducting efficient programs to reduce the problem still, there is a long way to go before the world can sleep with a full stomach.
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