According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 821 million people are currently suffering from chronic undernourishment across the globe. The reasons for the surge are complex, but are attributed to increasing conflict, economic slowdowns and the rise in extreme weather events related to climate change.
However, change is possible.
World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. The day is celebrated widely by many other organizations concerned with food security, including the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.This year’s World Food Day is being observed under the theme: “OUR ACTIONS ARE OUR FUTURE. A ZERO HUNGER WORLD BY 2030 IS POSSIBLE.”
The UN dedicates this day to tackling global hunger. It’s also a day for everyone to declare their dedication to eradication of worldwide hunger.
60% of women and almost five million children under the age of 5 die of malnutrition related causes every day. And according to a report by the United Nations food agency the number of Yemenis on the brink of famine could rise up to 12 million from around 8.5 million in coming months due to escalating war and a deepening economic crisis.
Zero Hunger as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is not limited to the fight against hunger alone, it also addresses all forms of malnutrition and also agriculture sustainable development.
70 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas where people’s lives depend on agriculture, fisheries or forestry. That’s why Zero Hunger calls for a transformation of rural economy: through government to create opportunity and through Smallholder farmers engaging the future of sustainable agricultural methods.
But employment and economic growth aren’t enough, especially for those who endure conflict and suffering. Achieving zero hunger can’t be left to just the government, it must be worked towards by every one of us, as businesses, organisations and individuals.
Zero Hunger moves beyond conflict-resolution and economic growth, taking the long-term approach to build peaceful, inclusive societies.
8 Reasons Why Zero Hunger Could Change the World
- Zero hunger could save the lives of 3.1 million children a year
- Well-nourished mothers have healthier babies with stronger immune systems
- Ending child under-nutrition could increase a developing country’s GDP by 16.5 percent
- A dollar invested in hunger prevention could return between $15 and $139 in benefits
- Proper nutrition early in life could mean 46 percent more in lifetime earnings
- Eliminating iron deficiency in a population could boost workplace productivity by 20 percent
- Ending nutrition-related child mortality could increase a workforce by 9.4 percent
- Zero hunger can help build a safer, more prosperous world for everyone
Sources: Inter Press Service, Greeningtheblue.org