We can stop hunger by spreading awareness of hunger, stopping the root causes, helping organizations stop hunger, no more food wastage and more. Here below are some steps that the U.N. World Food Programme is taking to diminish the issue of hunger.
Break the Cycle of Conflict and Hunger
When war starts the instability forces people to find illegal and sometimes violent means of acquiring their necessities. In this unstable period where access to food is fought over, the risk of social unrest heightens. In 2020, the U.N. World Food Programme became the Nobel Peace Price laureate and was recognized by the Nobel Committee "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon for war and conflict.
Decrease Sustainability and Building Resilience to Climate Change
To tackle the challenges of climate change, food availability and food access, we must also help farmers grow a more diverse range of crops and livestock. That's why the U.N. World Food Programme teaches farmers new new techniques, equips them with tools and educates their communities about the nutritional importance of eating a wide range of foods.
The U.N. World Food Programme helps communities build resilience to climate change through long-term solutions including :
. Reforestation and land rehabilitation projects
. Climate insurance for small-scale farmers
. Providing local institution with access to sustainable energy solutions
Address Poverty & Inequality Through Social Safety Nets
Poverty and inequality are the root causes of of global hunger. Imagine a mother who must forgo her daily meals to feed her children, or a farmer who must sell food rations in exchange for farming equipment. The U.N. World Food Programme is the world's largest provider of humanitarian cash, distributing cash to over 40 million people across 70 countries.
The global food crisis is mainly one of access where record-high prices mean people cannot buy what they need. Where markets are functioning, the U.N. World Food Programme can provide cash-based assistance in the form of bank notes, vouchers, cards, e-money or mobile money. Cash transfers empower families to decide how to spend their money while supporting local markets and economies.
Help Rural Farmers Connect to Markets
One of the cruelest ironies of hunger is its disproportionate impact on small-scale farmer the very people who grow food for a living. Small-scale farmers make up the majority of people living in poverty. Their economic losses come from lack of access to production inputs like proper storage, fertilizer and farming equipment as well as constant challenges from climate extremes.
The U.N. World Food Programme works to connect small-scale farmers to local economies while providing them with the resources to improve production, reduce their post-harvest losses, develop business skills and gain access to financial tools.
Reduce Food Waste & Food Loss
The world produces more than enough food to feed everyone, and yet 828 million people still go to bed hungry each night. In high-income countries, 40% of food is wasted because people buy more food than they can consume. In low-income countries, where the vast majority of the worlds hungriest people live, most food loss occurs during the early stages of growth, harvest, and storage.
The U.N. World Food Programme is working to eliminate food loss and waste by:
. Providing farmers with modern storage equipment like silos and air-tight bags
. Offering long-lasting foods like flour, dried beans and salt - all properly packaged in sturdy containers
. Investing in innovations like hydroponics that allow communities to grow, sell and store food in the harshest conditions.
. Selling and storing food in impossible places due to exposure of extreme temperatures, excess dust and general pollution.
. Advocating for policy that distributes American-grown crops to people in need - like the U.S. Farm Bill which supplies the U.N. World Food Programme with U.S. agricultural commodities like rice, corn, wheat and soybeans for people abroad.
What You Can Do to End World Hunger?
zero hunger may seem like an impossible goal, but through these six solutions we can make this dream a reality. The U.N. World Food Programme plays a vital role in that work by:
. Ensuring people in conflict-affected areas will not have food weaponized against them
. Anticipating, responding to and building resilience against the shocks and stresses of climate extremes
. Leveraging social safety nets, cash assistance and infrastructure to financially empower communities and local markets
. Connecting small-scale farmers with the tools they need to maintain sustainable agriculture for their country's food security
. Making sure that the ample food that is grown across the world does not go to waste due to improper management or redistribution
. Protecting groups affected by or at risk of malnutrition ( primarily mothers and children) by supplying them with specialized nutritious food to stop stunted growth due to hunger
Unless action is taken now, millions of people have the potential to fall into deeper levels of hunger. We can respond to this global emergency by addressing hunger at its root causes. We all have an obligation to build a future that better serves our planet and all the people that live on it.