HUNGER IN THE WORLD

WORLD HUNGER o World hunger is the want or scarcity of food in a country. o People of the world that are hungry are both malnourished and undernourished.

PROTEIN-ENERGY MALNUTRITION (PEM) o Most prominent type of malnutrition o Food is converted into energy by humans and the energy contained in food is measured by calories o Protein is necessary for key body functions including essential amino acids and development and maintenance of muscles. o Most lethal form of malnutrition/hunger and is referred to when world hunger is discussed.

THERE ARE 7 BILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD o 870 million (1 in 8) suffered from chronic undernourishment in o 852 million (almost all hungry people) live in developing countries o 16 million people are undernourished in developed countries

AREAS THAT HAVE DECREASED THE NUMBER OF UNDERNOURISHED PEOPLE o Asia and the Pacific o Latin America o Caribbean

AREAS THAT HAVE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF UNDERNOURISHED PEOPLE o Africa – the number grew from 175 million to 239 million o Nearly 1 in 4 are hungry

CHILDREN AND HUNGER o Children who are poorly nourished suffer up to 160 days of illness a year o Poor nutrition plays a role in half of the 10.9 million child deaths each year (5 million deaths) o Under-nutrition magnifies the effect of every disease including measles and malaria.

CHILDREN, DISEASE, AND MALNUTRITION o Malnutrition affects 32.5% of children in developing countries. o Malnutrition can be caused by diseases. o The diseases that cause diarrhea reduce the body’s ability to convert food into usable nutrients. o 70% of malnourished children live in Asia o 26% live in Africa o 4% live in Latin America and the Caribbean

MICRONUTRIENT MALNUTRITION o Micronutrients refer to vitamins and minerals that are important for health. o 1 out of 3 people in developing countries are affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies. o Three most important vitamins/minerals when it comes to health o Vitamin A o Iron o Iodine

MICRONUTRIENT: VITAMIN A o Vitamin deficiency can cause o Night blindness o Reduces body’s resistance to disease o In children, it can cause problems with growth. o Between 100 – 140 million children are vitamin A deficient. o Between 250,000 – 500,000 vitamin A deficient children become blind every year. – half die within 12 months of losing their sight.

MICRONUTRIENT: IRON o Iron deficiency is a principal cause of anemia o 2 billion people are anemic due to iron deficiency and in developing countries malaria and worm infections are the leading causes of iron drainage from one’s system. o Health consequences for children o Premature birth, low birth weight, infections, elevated risk of death, physical and cognitive impairments o Health consequences for pregnant women o Maternal deaths (death while pregnant)

MICRONUTRIENT: IODINE o Iodine deficiency disorders jeopardize children’s mental health. o Serious iodine deficiency during pregnancy may result in stillbirths and congenital abnormalities such as cognitive impairments. (Africa and Asia) o Iodine deficiency disorders affect over 740 million people or 13% of the world’s population.

MALNUTRITION AND PREGNANCY o Under-nutrition among pregnant women in developing countries leads to 1 out of 6 infants born with low birth weight o This is a risk factor in neonatal death (baby dies within first 28 days of life). o Under-nutrition and low birth weight can cause o Learning difficulties o Cognitive impairments o Poor heath o Premature death

CAUSES OF HUNGER o Poverty o Harmful economic/gov’t systems o Hunger o Conflict o Climate change

CAUSES OF HUNGER: POVERTY o Causes of poverty o Lack of resources o Extremely unequal income distribution in the world o People in developing countries live on $1.25 a day

POVERTY PROGRESS IN POVERTY o Asia o East Asia o China BACKTRACKING o Sub-Saharan Africa

CAUSES OF HUNGER: HARMFUL ECONOMIC SYSTEMS o Harmful economic and political systems are the underlying principle of hunger. o These systems have control over resources and income based on military, political and economic power. o Power is in the hands of the minority who live well.

CAUSES OF HUNGER: CONFLICT o Violence causes people to become refugees. o There are approximately 26 million refugees worldwide.

CAUSES OF HUNGER: HUNGER o Poor health, low levels of energy, and mental impairment can lead to even greater poverty by reducing people’s ability to work and learn, thus leading to even greater hunger.

CAUSES OF HUNGER: CLIMATE CHANGE o A shift in crops and farming practices are caused by o Increasing drought o Flooding o Change of climate patterns

STATISTICS o The number of undernourished people in developing countries was 824 million in and it rose to 870 million in o In the number of undernourished people worldwide was 1 billion. That number decreased to 870 million between

FOOD SUPPLY o There is enough food produced in the world to supply everyone in it with at least 2, 720 calories per person per day. o Problem: Many people don’t have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase enough food.

REFERENCES 2013 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics #Number_of_hungry_people_in_the_world