Zero Hunger

UN has put "Zero Hunger" as a second goal which will be tried to achieve by 2030.

What " Hunger" Is?

According to the UN, hunger is a period of time in which the population experiences huge food insecurity and has no food for the whole day to consume, due to lack of money and other resources.

Have you ever been hunger??
For how longe have to experienced your hunger and why?
Have you ever felt the inspiration to reduce the consumption of unnecessary snacks and share more resources with others that require essential food?

Why it Matters?

Hunger and malnutrition are a major problems worldwide. Nearly 800 million people suffer from hunger worldwide, not only in underdeveloped but also in developed countries. 22% of children under the age of five are stunted (shorter than their age). This is one of the biggest obstacles to socio-economic development.

Therefore, this is the time to understand the importance of this issue and play our part in tackling these huge problems.

Causes of Hunger

1. Uneven distribution of resources

It is a situation in which world's resources like: water, food, minerals, income etc. Poor infrastructure, geological conditions like altitude, climate are the main causes of unequal distribution of resources. About 80% of world's resources are used by 20% of world's population and remaining 80% population has access to just 20% of world's resources. Lack of infrastructure, corruption, poverty etc. are the mains reasons behind this unequal distribution of resources.

2. Conflicts and Wars

Conflicts and Wars can be the cause and as well the effect of hunger. In a conflict or war the adversaries try to seize or destroy food stocks, livestock, markets and other resources. Land and water resources are mined or contaminated, forcing people to leave. The poor are the ones who suffer the most during a war. They get stuck in their homes and have not enough storage of food and money. In this way wars and conflicts between countries push a large number of people to severe hunger.

3. nutritional quality

A large number of children in the world don't get enough protein so they lose their body weight and in severe cases they body begins wasting. These children are malnourished.

"Hidden Hunger" is another form of malnutrition which is more related to the quality than the quantity. All the people need certain amount of nutrition to spend a healthy life and when they don't get the required amount of nutrition, they become sick and even die in severe cases. Infants and young children are most susceptible to this malnutrition.

1 in every 4 children is affected by malnutrition.

food waste

Food waste is one of the leading causes of hunger. Food wastage starts at the time of harvest. 40% of the food grown in the world is spoiled because smallholder farmers don't have adequate knowledge, technology, food storage techniques to protect the food from pests and unfavorable weather.

We waste up to 121kg of food per person globally. It is 1.3 billion tons per year which worth US$1 trillion. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest producer of CO2 in the world.

negative impacts of hunger

Extreme hunger has long term and serious impacts on heath, especially for children. Most common effects of hunger are: stunted growth, high susceptibility to different diseases like, asthma, anemia, diabetes, heart diseases, behavioral problems. It also has serious impacts on the mental health. When someone has nothing to eat, the constant thinking of where the next meal will come from can cause depression, anxiety and even posttraumatic stress disorder (PSTD).

what is undernutrition?

Undernourishment, or undernutrition, is a form of malnutrition. It is characterized by a severe lack of food such that the individual expends more energy than he consumes. In the long term, this has serious health effects and can lead to death. Undernutrition is particularly prevalent in developing countries often affected by political, economic, social or climatic instabilities. There are two types of undernutrition: chronic malnutrition and acute.

Chronic malnutrition

Chronic malnutrition develops slowly, linked to a situation of poverty structural, especially when the diet is not balanced (example: eat only cereals, without other foods, can cause chronic malnutrition).

If a child is chronically malnourished for an extended period, he will suffer from stunted growth quickly, compared to another child of his age. His immune defenses are very weakened, and as a result, he is more likely to at the risk of disease (diarrhea, malaria, etc.).

55 million children are affected by this form of malnutrition worldwide.

It is detected when evaluating the size/age ratio.

Exterior sign: "He is small for his age".

High prevalence between 24 and 36 months.

Acute Malnutrition

Acute malnutrition is a form of malnutrition caused by the decreased food consumption and/or illness that results in sudden weight loss. It can be moderate or severe, and prolonged malnutrition can cause stunted growth which is known as stunting. Stunting in early childhood can affect the children throughout their entire lives. It can be treated with a combination of community-based management and therapeutic foods/Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs).

effects of covid-19

Covid-19 has increased food crisis and pushed an immense number of people to starvation in almost every country no matter if it's rich or poor. According to WHO, the number of undernourished children can rise by up to 132 million, currently the number is 690 million. Daily wagers are at the high risk to go to starvation because they don't have alternative means of earning. Likewise no job means no earning and no earning means no food.

It has disrupted the whole food chain. Lockdowns, border closures and trade restrictions are a hindrance in their way to the market for buying input or for selling their products.

THE TARGETS

BY 2030:

End hunger all around the world and allow everyone to have enough food for/per a whole year, especially for the most vulnerable categories (poor, ....)
End all forms of malnutrition, included the international targets regarding the problems of: children under 5, stunting and wasting, the pregnancy of young womens, the nutritional esigence of teenagers, lactanting women and olders person
Double the incomes of small-scale food producers and the agricultural productivity, equal access to the land and create new job opportunities especially for women, indigenous people and family farmers
Move to a more sustainable way of producing and improve farming practices to increase quality and productivity, that respect nature and adapt to the climate change
do not alter the genetic diversity of plants, seeds and domesticated and wild animals, have free access to the resulting benefits of the utilization of genetic resources
More investment in agricultural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technological development and plant and livestock gene banks, to improve agricultural techniques in countries, especially in poorer countries
Stop and prevent whenever possible, all alterations in the agricultural market
Find a way to better guarantee the quality and functioning of food and derivatives

Actions

Increase food aids
Being a volunteer in the country where needed
Reduce food waste
Spread awareness
Climate Smart Agriculture
Urban Farming
Government Intervention

What are we doing as a Volunteers?

Speak with local farmers

We meet local farmers who will tell us about the sustainable agricultural methods and we shall convey these ideas to the people of our countries.

Create a story for children about Zero hunger

We create stories for children to inform them about hunger in the world and avoid food waste.

Create content on social media

We have started a campaign on social media (Facebook, Instagram, tiktok etc.)

Work in the streets

We go to different streets and aware the people about the issue of hunger, food waste and the methods to cope with this issue.

Think what you are doing and what can be improved?

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