'1 Billion Die Hungry Every Year,' Who's Responsible?

http://www.allafrica.com; http://www.africaonline.com - both of these sites contain information on the perils of Africa including starvation and aids http://www.aah-usa.org – Action against Hunger site for efforts to save millions of people a year from starvation

http://www.thehungersite.com – a site for statistics about world hunger; also, donate here towards the starve out hunger cause

http://www.manteno.k12.il.us/drussert/WebQuests/HallOvandoRobinson/start.html – site that investigates the question, “What can one person do about hunger?

http://www.wfp.org – World Food Programme site

According to the US Census (2009), there are 1.8 deaths per second worldwide, meaning that there are over 100 deaths per minute.

Out of which, every six seconds a child dies of starvation.

Can you believe that? I cant.

With World Food Day celebrated yesterday, on 16th October 2010. It was shocking to read that over 1 billion are starving.

yeah, you read right, 1 billion. Dying. Why? from simply starving.

So, for those of those you, who don't understand the seriousness of this rather common term, 'Starve' which we use quite recklessly in our 'healthy' lives.

Starvation is that feeling of hunger one experiences with a lack of food, the “persistent gnawing condition resulting from a lack of adequate food intake, which prevents one form working of thinking correctly.” Starvation is the most severe case of the condition of hunger.

Starvation and hunger, if not combated, lead certainly to malnutrition. Malnutrition is the condition resulting from a lack of life sustaining vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

On October 11, a new global hunger index released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) showed that one billion people face hunger this year.

The 2010 Global Hunger Index showed there was alarming hunger in 25 out of the 122 countries surveyed.

"The present dramatic situation has come about because instead of tackling the structural causes of food insecurity, the world neglected agriculture in development policies, resulting in an under-investment in this sector, in particular in developing countries," said Kanayo F. Nwanze, the Nigerian vice president of IFAD, a United Nations agency and an international financial institution, whose mandate is to help rural poor people pull themselves out of poverty.

I understand natural disasters. I understand incurable diseases. I understand accidental deaths. I (don't) understand Wars. I understand mental/health issues. I understand natural deaths.

What I don't understand why do people have to die because there's no food available.

I see plenty. Why aren't they getting any?

Before you start pointing out that hunger is most severe in the 'poorest' parts of the world such as Africa, India, Pakistan and Indonesia. I agree, that they do have the largest percentage of hungry people of all the countries in the world.

But even developed countries like United States, have nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion total, live on less than US$1 per day. One out of every eight children under twelve in the US goes to bed hungry every night.

So back to the question, of why these people aren't getting any food?

Is it due to lack of food?

Is it be because the countries don't have any money?

Is it because of lack of technologic advances?

No, NO & No.

I highly doubt its any of these reasons why nations are finding it hard to feed its citizens.

I think I can safely say that they have enough of money to spend on basic necessities like food or technology to make that required amount of food.

Even, Nwanze, the Nigerian vice president of IFAD, a United Nations agency and an international financial institution said, 'that there is too much hunger in the world, even though there are abundant global food supplies, better economic prospects, and lower food prices,' a Press TV correspondent reported on Friday.

For fun, lets review some approximate amounts spent by countries only on SPORT instead of feeding their people.

Africa, spent billions on the World Cup 2010.

India spent billions on the Common wealth Games 2010.

UK will be spending billions on the Olympics 2012.

Is SPORT that important? Now you may say sure, it is. It increases the country's economy, there's more jobs, development in telecommunications, roads.......etc just to look good in the public eye.

So if there's so much money gained, where does it all go?

People are STILL dying from not having food and basic health facilities.

Where do you think nations are going wrong? Are they doing enough?

References:

http://www.starvation.net – by Starvation.net, to-the-minute information on the starvation crisis in many third world countries worldwide, including to-the-second statistics

http://www.napsoc.org – National Association for the Prevention of Starvation home site containing information of how to aid in the cause to eliminate starvation