Up to 828 million people worldwide do not have enough to eat. One in 10 people globally suffer from chronic hunger.<\/span> What are the consequences of hunger and where is the situation the worst?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Depending on the consequences and the region, there are different types of hunger:<\/span><\/p>\n

Acute hunger<\/b> describes malnutrition over a definable period of time. It is the most extreme form of hunger and often appears in connection with crises, such as droughts, floods, wars and natural disasters. According to the status at the end of 2022, Afghanistan, Somalia and Niger were among the countries whose populations suffered most severely from acute hunger globally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chronic hunger<\/b> refers to a state of permanent malnutrition.\u00a0<\/span>The body takes in less food than it needs. Although acute hunger crises are most commonly reported, chronic hunger is the most widespread globally. It usually occurs in relation to poverty. Chronically hungry people usually don\u2019t have enough money for a healthy diet, clean water or health care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hidden hunger<\/b> is a form of chronic hunger. Due to iron deficiency and an unbalanced diet, important nutrients such as iron, iodine, zinc or vitamin A are missing. The consequences of hidden hunger are not necessarily visible at first sight, but in the long term the nutrient deficiency leads to serious diseases. Children in particular cannot develop properly mentally and physically. Hidden hunger not only harms people individually, but can reduce overall development in the affected regions because it decreases the people’s performance capability and their health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children are the most visible victims of undernutrition. 45% of all child deaths come from poor nutrition. The risk of dying from malnutrition is high. Every year, about 30-40 million people die of hunger or its immediate consequences. Children under the age of five are often affected.
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The majority of the world\u2019s hungry people live in lower-middle-income regions, in the developing world, where a weak government, extreme poverty, inequality and the lack of access to nutritious food is a big problem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are the most severely affected by severe malnutrition globally, and also suffer from poverty and climate crises.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Heat waves and droughts affect Africa, Asia and Europe. West Africa and Pakistan struggle with catastrophic floods. Both influence and decrease the very needed harvests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Welthungerhilfe.de<\/span><\/a> (translated: world-hunger-help), a German organization which helps to reduce hunger internationally and worldwide, writes in one of their articles:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in Africa are paying the highest price. Here, more than 100 million people will experience droughts, floods and extreme heat waves as a result of climate change by the end of the decade.\u201d\u00a0 […]<\/span><\/p>\n

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Regions like Central- and South America struggle a lot as well. During my research I came across an <\/span>article<\/span><\/a> about Haiti. The country has always been poor, but was always able to feed itself. After the 1990s, it became steadily more difficult to access nutrition. In the 2000s, a series of disasters followed, such as the 2010 earthquake, hurricane Matthew in 2016 and the Southern earthquake of 2021. Today, half of the Haitian population are in a food crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

People in Peru and Bolivia are also struggling. Although the national economies of both countries have grown steadily in recent years and they are now both categorized as “(low) middle income countries,” small farmers and the indigenous population in particular are still doing poorly, both financially and in terms of food. They suffer from malnutrition and have no secure access to water, electricity or basic sanitation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even in developed countries hunger and malnutrition is an ongoing issue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Geographic Magazine reports about hunger in the U.S.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One-sixth of Americans don\u2019t have enough food to eat. \u201c<\/span>Urban neighborhoods with pervasive unemployment and poverty are home to the hungriest. The South Bronx has the highest rate of food insecurity in the country, 37 percent, compared with 16.6 for New York City as a whole\u201d , writes the magazin it its campaign \u201c<\/span>The New Face of Hunger\u201d.\u00a0 If you want to read the full article click <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

For 2023 and the future, I would like to see more efficient ways to reduce hunger around the world and more commitment and political support to solve the hunger issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Discussion questions:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. What is one way to solve hunger issues globally?<\/span><\/li>\n
2. Why is hunger a social problem?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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   Sources:<\/span><\/p>\n

   2018 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n