Why does childhood hunger exist

Often single mothers are worst affected as they have to look after children and provide economically for the entire household. Households where one parent is disabled. Those who have no access to water for market gardening in the off-season. Those with no access to money to buy things like animals or even fruit trees to complement their other agricultural activities tend to be very vulnerable.

How you can help By making a donation to the Big Impact Appeal or by sponsoring a child , you can help to ensure that children and families have access to the food they need for good health and wellbeing. With your support, World Vision can address both the short- and long-term implications of hunger and food insecurity in many countries around the world by: teaching farmers how to protect their land, prevent soil degradation and increase sustainability and productivity; providing farmers with new varieties of seed that are both more productive and nutritious; starting community savings groups to invest in agriculture and health and education; providing loans to buy and raise livestock; training farmers in improved agricultural techniques such as crop rotation, drip irrigation and the planting of trees that will enrich overworked soil; educating families on the importance of feeding their children foods that contain essential nutrients such as iron and vitamins A; helping communities protect their available food resources with new storage techniques; and helping farmers harness the power of the community by establishing farmers' groups and marketing associations.

You could help to make it all happen. Make a donation to the Big Impact Appeal Donate. With the generous support of people like you, our emergency teams are helping save lives, providing lifesaving treatment to malnourished children and delivering urgent food and water. Together, we can take urgent action to prevent children from sliding even deeper into tragedy.

Now is the time to act and help children survive. What Causes Hunger? Some of the basic causes of hunger are societal, such as: Poverty: When people are in a state of poverty, they lack the resources to cover their basic needs such as food, water, and shelter. Conflict: Conflict often uproots people from their homes and land, so food production dwindles or stops completely.

Gender Inequality: Though women produce the majority of food in developing countries and are typically the primary caregivers for children, gender inequality in societies leads to a higher malnutrition rate among women and girls.

Donate Now. The number of hungry people could be reduced by nearly million if women farmers had the same resources and aid as male farmers. In , it was estimated that million children under the age of 5 were stunted. Malnutrition results in both obesity and wasting. In some countries, the only food that people can afford is an unhealthy, greasy, and cholesterol-raising fast-food burger, while in other countries there is simply no affordable or available food.

Hungry children are found everywhere, although the vast majority are located in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Proper nutrition is vital for adults, but when children go without the proper nutrients or the right amounts of food, their risk of death and inability to develop or thrive is even more severe. Those whose basic physiological needs air, water, food, shelter, sleep, etc.

Ending child hunger and preventing it in future generations is absolutely essential to helping developing countries thrive. One of the largest impacts you can have begins with your own diet. According to the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, about million people do not have enough to eat. Now, this number is higher than it was several years ago but the math, done by a researcher at Cornell, still stands.

Another option is to support and invest in nonprofits like Food for Life, who support efforts to end hunger. A lack of nutrition is especially important for pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children: Nutrition support during pregnancy and up to the age of five can help protect children for their entire lives.

Proper nutrition reduces the likelihood of disease, poor health, and cognitive impairment. Through the LANN project, communities in countries like Sierra Leone are learning how to identify nutrient-rich wild foods that are safe to eat in order to make the most of their available resources.

This is one of the many ways we look for sustainable solutions for malnourished communities. Systemic problems, like poor infrastructure or low investment in agriculture, often prevent food and water from reaching the world populations that need them the most.

Working towards economic stability overall will have a ripple effect on other causes of world hunger cited on this list. Photo: Kieran McConville. Women are on the frontlines of the fight against hunger , yet they are frequently underrepresented at the forums where important decisions on policy and resources are made. Imagine balancing a pound container on your head and walking three and a half miles home.

It's the daily reality of millions of women and girls around the world. Beyond war and conflict, a number of factors contribute to the causes of forced migration.

This includes hunger, but forced migration can also be a cause of hunger. Many refugees living abroad live in neighboring countries with limited resources to begin with. In Lebanon, for example, nearly a third of the population are refugees , placing a huge strain on resources.

Each year, Concern partners with Welthungerhilfe to produce the Global Hunger Index; released last October, the edition underlines the connection between hunger and forced migration, a problem which can only be resolved by a political solution.