The Extent of Hunger in Our World

Folks, I’d like to begin focusing on areas of the world’s unworkability that must be addressed if we’re to build Nova Earth.

The material below is taken from a Hunger Project presentation. The Hunger Project was begun by Werner Erhard to end world hunger. It was in the beginning an educational project, but I see in more recent times it has begun providing actual technological and financial assistance.

The Hunger Project would be an example of an organization where targeted or strategic gifting would have good impact.

For some of us, our work will begin with the announcement of the Reval. At a future date I’ll be discussing strategic gifting, channeling funds to make the maximum difference in the world. Here I’d like to begin to lay out the extent of the work that faces us, in the next phase of things.

In a world whose population is over seven billion, 842 million people – or one in eight people in the world – don’t have enough to eat. (1) Of undernourished people, 98% live in developing countries. (2)

Where is hunger the worst? Asia has 552 million undernouished people; Subsaharan Africa has 223 million; Latin America and the Caribbean have 47 million. (3)

According to the Hunger Project, 60 percent of the world’s hungry are women. (4) Fifty percent of pregnant women in developing countries lack proper maternal care, resulting in 240,000 maternal deaths annually from childbirth. (5) If women farmers had the same access to resources as men, the number of hungry in the world could be reduced by up to 150 million. (6)

One of six infants are born with a low birth weight in developing countries. (7) Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year. That is 8,500 children per day. (8) A third of all childhood death in sub-Saharan Africa is caused by hunger. (9)

Sixty-six million primary school-age children attend classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone. (10) Every 10 seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases. (11)

1.4 billion people in developing countries live on $1.25 a day or less. (12) Ruural areas account for three out of every four people living on less than $1.25 a day. (13) 22,000 children die each day due to conditions of poverty. (14)

According to the Hunger Project, empowering women to be key change agents is an essential element to achieving the end of hunger and poverty. Wherever they work, they state, their programs aim to support women and build their capacity.