Hunger is considered the world’s greatest solvable problem because the world produces enough food to feed everyone. Yet hunger and undernutrition (or malnutrition) remain persistent global developmental challenges (te Lintelo & Lakshman, 2014). Why? There are many factors that contribute to both hunger and malnutrition, which are major health problems, especially in developing countries.
The following facts on hunger and malnutrition provide a disturbing perspective on this global health issue (te Lintelo & Lakshman, 2014; World Food Programme, 2015b; World Health Organization [WHO], 2015a; WHO, 2015b; World Health Organization, World Food Programme, United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition, The United Nations Children’s Fund, 2007).
- Approximately 800 million people in the world—about 1 in 9 people on earth—do not have enough food to lead a healthy, active life.
- The vast majority of the world’s hungry people live in developing countries where approximately 13% of the population is undernourished.
- Asia is the continent with the highest number of hungry people—approximately two-thirds of the world’s total hungry people live there.
- Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest prevalence (percentage of the population) of hunger. Of the population in sub-Saharan Africa, 25% is undernourished.
- One in six children (approximately 100 million) in developing countries is underweight.
- Nearly 20 million children across the globe are severely, acutely malnourished.
- Approximately 1 million of the children die every year because of severe acute malnutrition.
- If women farmers had the same access to resources as male farmers, the number of hungry people in the world would be reduced by up to 150 million people.
- There are 66 million primary school-age children in the developing world who attend classes hungry. African school children comprise 23 million of this total.
- While malnutrition contributes to more than one-third of all child deaths, it is rarely listed as the direct cause of death.
- The mortality of children with severe acute malnutrition ranges from 10% to 21%.