The Current Status Of The World In Hunger

Where does starvation exist in the world today, What are some causes of hunger in the world, Citizens of developed countries donating monetarily to the ongoing relief efforts, In this article I will address these issues with the hope that by creating an understanding of the current situation of hunger in the world, people morally conscious on their part to help eradicate this unseen suffering. It is well known that there is enough food in the world to feed every human being on earth. Unfortunately, malnutrition and hunger still affecting one in seven people in the world today.

Or, from a slightly different statistical perspective, the current world population is 4,712,200,000. The number of malnourished is 797,900,000. Therefore, 17% of the world population is currently malnourished or starving. No matter how you consider the matter, the current crisis is at hand. Why is this so, The causes of starvation are complex, but there are some commonalities that seem to be associated with this problem.

First, hunger is caused by poverty. To address the problem of hunger in the world, then the problem of global poverty must be addressed. Therefore, the question we must analyze is what are the causes of poverty. A thorough discussion on the causes of global poverty is beyond the scope of this article.

Entire books have been written on the subject. For our analysis, is sufficient to say that one of the main causes of poverty are governments implement policies that impede self-sufficiency. Famine areas are also characterized by persistent problems in cultivating food for lack of seed, arable land, and tools. Those who can grow food, must deal with insects, drought, floods, and war, which can result in complete destruction of crops. Historically, parts of Africa have experienced periodic locust infestations, which can completely destroy crops.

Other causes of hunger are related to the system of globalization of food production. The global system of food production and trade in favor of a reliance on export crops, while discrimination against small-scale farmers and subsistence farming. Many third world countries export food to much but not concomitantly keeping enough food to feed its own people.

AIDS is a major cause of hunger. In societies affected by AIDS, famine is more deadly and difficult to combat. Why is this so, AIDS attacks the most productive individuals in society. Less productive people in society means fewer people to work jobs that involve food production. This is a contribution to the famine that is taking place in Africa. Weather plays an important role in terms of the prevalence of hunger.

Drought areas leads to unusable land with famine. This is well known. Less known is that floods can also lead to starvation. Crops can be flooded and destroyed so that essentially the same result of drought. In both cases, time can produce a complete lack of self-sufficiency. Military conflicts, both internal and between neighboring countries can lead to starvation. These conflicts can lead to destruction of crops. Government money goes to fund the conflict at the expense of starving people. Funds are diverted from social and economic development.

Military conflicts can also result in the displacement of large groups of people out of their lands and way of life. People can end up in refugee camps, totally dependent on relief aid. The factors responsible for world hunger are numerous, and some factors change from year to year, therefore at any given time, some areas may be more sensitive then others. The extent of drought, floods, civil conflicts and war with neighboring countries can vary over time.

Therefore, incorporating these factors affect a variable in the degree to which the inhabitants of the countries likely to suffer from hunger. A combination of these causal factors in a particular region is a recipe for disaster. When this occurs, large scale starvation can take place. An example of this. The Horn of Africa has experienced a severe drought, coupled with internal conflicts. This is leading to the development of a tragedy. In this region, currently 11 million people are on the brink of starvation. Historically, certain areas of the world have a high prevalence of hunger and starvation.



These areas include the central South America, large areas of eastern, central and southern Africa and South Asia regions. This area of Central Africa has been struggling to cope with the devastating effects of drought and locust invasions. In this region, extreme poverty has been exacerbated by a political crisis, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes.