“If you can’t feed hundred people, then just feed one’’
- Mother Theresa
What is social hunger?
Social Hunger is lacking the means to obtain enough food to live a healthy life. People living in food poverty have an income or expenditure that is less than the amount needed to consistently afford a basket of food with minimum recommended nutritional intake.
Statistics of social hunger:
India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, has seen tremendous growth in the past two decades. Gross Domestic Product has increased 4.5 times and per capita consumption has increased 3 times. Similarly, food grain production has increased almost 2 times. However, despite phenomenal industrial and economic growth and while India produces sufficient food to feed its population, it is unable to provide access to food to a large number of people, especially women and children. According to FAO estimates in ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2020 report, 189.2 million people are undernourished in India. Measures and efforts are being taken to aid in the welfare of the people.
What are the effects of social hunger on the population?
The effects of social hunger are as diverse as they are devastating. At its core, a diet characterized by an insufficient intake of calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals impedes human development at every level – for infants, children and adults. In turn, this negatively impacts the health, education, economic and social development of entire communities across the globe. Research shows an association between food deprivation and delayed development in young children; risk of chronic illnesses like asthma and anemia; and behavioural problems like hyperactivity, anxiety and aggression in school-age children.
What are the solutions to social hunger?
In order to effectively fight chronic food deprivation, governments, non-governmental organizations and global leaders across all sectors need to work together to find new solutions to world hunger. Food security means knowing where your next meals are coming from- not just today, but for weeks and months to come, and we as a country are taking efforts and small steps to do so.
~Ritika Gudi (Batch of 2020-2021)
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