The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) recently released new data on the number of people worldwide that are being affected by the world food crisis, and that number is exceeding 1 billion for the first time in human history. To make matters worse, the WFP also announced that the amount of food aid currently available for those most in need is at a twenty year low, and the organization is currently facing a $4.1 billion budget shortfall.
Food prices have increased dramatically around much of the world as a result of the recent financial crisis, and an estimated 150 million people were added to the ranks of the chronically hungry in 2008 alone. There have been food riots in many of the hardest-hit countries, and the situation is only expected to get worse. This series of articles will explore the current statistics on world hunger, as well as how chronic hunger affects global productivity, how much worse the global food shortages might get and what people can do to help promote global food security.
Current Statistics on World Hunger
As the number of people suffering from the world food crisis increases, relief organizations such as Oxfam International are calling on governments, corporations and individuals worldwide to act. Recent food shortage statistics released by Oxfam are disturbing:
- Chronic hunger, or the lack of a sufficient amount of nutritious food, currently affects 1 in 6 people worldwide.
- 13 million children are born every year with growth and development issues due to the mother's malnutrition.
- Many of the world's poorest people spend 80% or more of their annual income just for food, and even this is often not enough to provide them with adequate amounts of food.
- More than 24,000 people die every day due to hunger related causes.
- The percentage of overseas development assistance allocated to agricultural development has dropped dramatically in recent years - from almost 20% in 1980 to less than 3% today.
- In the developing world, 50% to 60% of all childhood deaths are hunger related.
- More than 5 million children die every year simply because they do not have access to adequate amounts of food and water.
More Information on Global Food Shortages
The global impact of this increase in hunger goes far beyond public health; the world food crisis is directly affecting the economic productivity of the hardest-hit areas. Learn more about how this is happening in "The World Food Crisis: Chronic Hunger Affects Economic Productivity."
To find out what you can do to help, read "Ending the Global Food Crisis: Five Ways to End World Hunger."
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