Global Policy Forum

By Jason Topping Cone

It is estimated that 830 million people are under-nourished in the world

Conflict, civil strife, and natural disasters may garner headlines, but poverty is the main reason why 830 million people in the world are under-nourished, said the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday. Catherine Bertini, the Executive Director of WFP, released a map here to highlight "hot spots" for world hunger. Sudan, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Angola top that list in the Africa region. Afghanistan and North Korea in Asia and Colombia in Latin America are considered "hot spots" by the food relief agency.

WFP is the largest food relief agency in the world yet it can only provide hunger relief to 89 million people per year or just above 10 percent of the world's under nourished population. WFP provides 40 percent of the world's food relief. The largest number of people who suffer from nutritional deficiencies live in Asia, according to WFP. The Asia and Pacific region accounts for 525 million of the world's under-nourished population or 17 percent of the people in the region. But, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest percentage of its population suffering from hunger. Approximately 33 percent of the region's 539 million people suffer from under-nourishment.

The main reason these large swaths of people are "hungry is because they are poor," says Bertini. Conflict and natural disasters tend to exacerbate hunger situations in poor countries beacause these countries lack infrastructure to deal with these disasters, adds Bertini. Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Indonesia are some examples of countries that have been hit with conflict and disasters such as droughts.

Near East and North Africa has some 33 million people that are believed to be under-nourished. Afghanistan accounts for the bulk of the people suffering from hunger in this region. The Latin America and Caribbean region is home to some 53 million under-nourished people with the majority from Haiti, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Colombia. The Balkan states account for the majority of the people affected by hunger in Europe, according to WFP.

People affected by nutritional deficiencies have a difficult time competing for labor intensive jobs that often provide the bulk of employment opportunities available in developing countries, says Bertini. An under-nourished mother gives birth and raises a child that will be more often than not receive poor nutrition. The child may suffer from stunted growth or other developmental problems.

According to the UN Children's Fund, approximately 177 million children suffer from stunted growth mainly from malnutrition in their mothers. These children, once grown up, will find it difficult to compete for jobs and will most likely not be able to support their families, says Bertini. The people affected by hunger are stuck in a cycle of under nourishment that continues to the next generation, says Bertini.

"We can't run away from these problems," says Bertini. "One way or another, they have a way of showing up on our doorsteps through television, mass emigration, the spread of disease and environmental degradation. Responding to these problems is not just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing."

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