Problems, Causes, Effects and Solutions free essay sample

Also the exhausted condition caused by the want of food the want or scarcity of food in a country a strong desire or craving, MALNUTRITION†. Statistical data of world hunger started in 1969 by the United Nations. Here is a breakdown of countries and there hunger estimation (courtesy of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations): Sub-Saharan Africa: 239 million Asia and the Pacific: 578 million Latin America and the Caribbean: 53 million Near East and North Africa: 37 millionDeveloped countries: 19 million World Hunger is can be attributed to poverty, harmful cultural norms, a global population boom, and food shortages (worldhunger. org). According to the Bread for the World organization, in â€Å"Around the world, 178 million children under 5 are stunted, low height for age. Of all stunted children, 90 percent live in just 36 countries, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Central Asia. † Also, â€Å"In countries with high levels of childhood malnutrition, the economic loss can be as high as 2-3 percent of GDP† (bread. org).Countries that deny women equal opportunity rights because of cultural norms create a major contribution to poverty and thus hunger. Two-thirds of the world’s poor are illiterate females (The Hunger Project). Global food prices rising coupled with the lack of an extra female provider in a household could mean the difference between starvation and nourishment. Another causation of world hunger is the large population boom that we are facing. Currently, the agricultural rates are set to decline in this upcoming decade as population is dramatically increasing Adams 2011). Also, the demand for meat-based diets has quadrupled during the second half of the 20th century, making grain production in high demand for the feeding of livestock. This decreases the amount of food available to the world’s ever increasing population and widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots. According to the Freedom from Hunger organization, â€Å"this year nearly 9 million children younger than 5 will die needlessly, more than half from hunger-related causes† (freedomfromhunger. org). Globally, hunger leads to many health complications such as high infant mortality rates, impeded development, and a weakened immune system that cannot fight off infections, therefore a higher risk of infection (freedomfromhunger. org). A chronically hungry country is also more venerable in times of disaster, and also harms a nation’s economic growth and development. High infant mortality rates are produced because women who are chronically hungry are malnourished and their bodies cannot provide the proper amount of nutrients to promote a healthy baby.This also leads to a high mortality rate during childbirth because the mother’s body is unable to properly heal itself, most often due to a lack of reparative amino acids and proteins. Coincidently, according to the Freedom from Hunger organization, â€Å"where infant and child mortality is high, birth rates are also high, and locking these communities in a vicious cycle of malnutrition and death† (freedomfromhunger. org). Illness and infection are common among people in countries with a high rate of chronic hunger.When the body is malnourished, a person’s immune system is compromised because of lack of nutrients, and often dehydration as well. The body then can contract illnesses and infections and future infections and illnesses are harder for people to fight because of their malnourished immune system. When a society has children and adults who are chronically hungry, they also have an impeded economic system. According to the Freedom from Hunger organization, â€Å"For the nearly 67 million children who weigh less than they should due to chronic hunger, completing school is an unlikely reality.Studies have shown that underweight children will probably spend fewer years in school, which, in turn, has a measurable impact on how much they earn in adulthood† (freedomfromhunger. org). Currently, we are facing a global food crisis. The world is facing the largest number of inhabitants than ever before; by the year 2050, it is expected that 9. 2 billion people will live on the Earth. Naturally, the world will have to compensate with doubled demand for food by increasing agriculture. But 9. billion people and more farmland demand lots of water. Scientists estimate that the Earth has already lost 24% of its water and that every year we stand to lose an additional 1% of water. As our ecosystem is slowly becoming dehydrated, it may be impossible to double the amount of agriculture to feed people, let alone keep the citizens of the world hydrated (Cribb 2010). There may not be one key solution to hunger, but through education about hunger, governmental policy influence, and contribution, we may be able to combat global starvation.Our voices are essential to alert the government to our feelings about policies involving poverty and therefore hunger. According to Hunger Notes, it is â€Å"strongly suggests[ed] that you join one (or more) U. S. anti-hunger advocacy/public policy organizations or other organizations that deal with key issues affecting poor people† (worldhunger. org). Also, there are many organizations, both religious and non-affiliated, that are there to help combat poverty and hunger, both here in our own societies, and around the globe.