Global Hunger Conversation Notes
1. Two different conversations taking place around the world:
a. What should I eat?
b. How can I keep from starving?
c. World produces enough food to feed everyone. World agriculture produces 17% more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago. Can provide 2720 kilocalories per person per day for all in world. We will need to double food production by 2050 to meet global food needs…
2. Hunger – issue is Malnutrition… lack of some or all nutritional elements necessary for human health…lack of food that provides energy…
a. Children who survive early malnutrition suffer irreversible harm- poor physical growth/compromised immune function/impaired cognitive abilities
3. Causes of Hunger:
a. Poverty – between 1.3 and 1.4 billion people in extreme poverty… living on $1.25 a day or less
b. Economic Challenges – high food (consumer demand increases) prices (maize, wheat, rice, soybeans@ 40% higher than in 2007); rising fuel costs to transport food and water; global recession; poor agricultural challenges and methods…
c. Conflict – over 12 million displaced refugees globally due to wars and violence…
d. Climate Issues – environmental patterns may be changing… increased levels of drought, flooding, and climatic pattern irregularities…
e. Hunger Itself – poor health, low energy levels, mental impairments as hungry people can lead to greater poverty by reducing people’s abilities to work and learn…
The reality of Hunger Globally & Locally
1. Globally:
a. In 2010, it was estimated that 925 million people suffer globally from hunger – spike upward…1 in 7 people in our world today
b. About 3 million children die each year from things directly connected to malnutrition issues… children who are poorly nourished suffer up to 160 days of illness per year.
c. Countries with high levels of childhood malnutrition, economic loss can be 2-3% of GDP
d. Global Hunger Index: 3 Key Factors… (2010)
e. Prevalence of underweight children; proportion of undernourished kids; and the under-5 mortality rate
f. Top 15 rates: 13 nations in Sub-Saharan Africa; Haiti and Yemen outside Africa
g. The Thousand day Window of Opportunity: Conception to age 2 is huge!!
2. Locally/In USA:
a. 15% of households, more than 50 million Americans, struggle to put enough food on table for families today…
b. ¼ kids at risk for hunger… 1/3 for African-American and Latino children
c. 20 million kids receive free or reduced price lunches each day
d. 100,000 people classified in Kent County as food insecure (600,000 people)
e. $4.37 per day per person if you are living on food stamps---$135/month
The Famine in Horn of Africa
Job 5:10-11… He provides rain for the earth; he sends water to the countryside. The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety…
1. What is a Famine?
a. Acute malnutrition levels/rates among kids exceed 30%
b. 2 deaths per 10,000 per day or 4 under age 5 deaths per 10,000 per day
c. At least 20% of households facing extreme food shortages
2. Current Famine Reality: Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania
a. 13.5 million people being stalked by hunger/ 35% of all children facing emergency levels of malnutrition
b. Water prices have increased more than 300% - families selling assets and going into debt to get clean water/food.
c. Animals and humans getting water from same place spreading diseases--Dying livestock, as high as 40-60% in localized areas
d. ¼ of Somalia’s 7.5 million people is displaced
e. 1500 refugees daily waiting to register at Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, with over 400,000 people now living there – 3rd largest city in Kenya
f. Maize, staple food in Kenya, is currently priced 80-120% about normal, while projected harvest remains 30% below normal…
g. Historic levels of drought – some areas without measureable rainfall for several years
h. Children and adults now much more likely to die now from diseases like: malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles…because of malnutrition issues…
3. Prayers to Pray:
a. End to drought – rain enabling food to grow and wells to be filled
b. Delivery of aid and implementation of long-term solutions
c. Pray for malnourished children and their families
d. Peace and good systems to deliver help in these days.
A Final Hunger Memory: Eating Porridge at Pre-School in Zambia…
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