Every year on World Food Day (October 16), The Hunger Project joins people all over the world to raise awareness of hunger and malnutrition and inspire actions to eliminate hunger for good. This year, World Food Day focuses on the theme “Change the future of migration: Invest in food security and rural development.” It addresses the need to build the resilience of displaced and host communities.
This year’s theme emphasizes the importance of investing in rural development as an engine for long-term recovery and inclusive and sustainable growth, especially in the face of political instability, conflict and extreme weather events linked to climate change.
World Food Day is an important time to reiterate the right to food as a basic human right; that investing in sustainable food systems and rural development means addressing some of the major global challenges – from empowering the world’s growing population to protecting the global climate to tackling the root causes of hunger and malnutrition. World Food Day is also a time to remind everyone that achieving the 17 SDGs can’t happen without ending hunger and without empowering communities with the skills and knowledge to lead their own change.
Facts and Figures (Source: FAO)
– The world produces enough food to feed everyone, yet 815 million people suffer from hunger. 60% of them are women.
– Nearly 80% of the world’s extreme poor live in rural areas. Most of them depend on agriculture.
– Hunger kills more people every year than malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined.
– Nearly 45% of infant deaths are related to malnutrition.
– The cost of malnutrition to the global economy is the equivalent of USD 3.5 trillion a year.
– One-third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted.
– The world will need to produce 60 percent more food by 2050 to feed a growing population.
– No other sector is more sensitive to climate change than agriculture.
– 98% of the world’s undernourished people live in developing countries.
– Of the 815 million people living in chronic hunger: 519.6 million live in Asia; 223 million live in Sub-Saharan Africa; 42.5 million live in Latin America and the Caribbean.
What We Do:
– Promote universal education for all women, men and children in communities where we work. Education is fundamental to achieving our vision of a world where every woman, man and child leads a healthy and fulfilling life of self-reliance and dignity. That is why it’s at the heart of all our work ending hunger. Learn more.
– Advocate for women-centered, community-led development. Development happens in communities. It is in communities that women, men and youth can discover their voice, assert their rights, and mobilize action to achieve their aspirations. That’s why we have launched a global movement to promote community-led development. Learn more.
– Economically empower Africa’s women. Our Microfinance Program addresses a critical missing link for the end of hunger in Africa: the economic empowerment of the most important but least supported food producers on the continent – Africa’s women. Learn more.
– Promote girls’ rights and end child marriage in the communities where we work. Ending child marriage is key to ending hunger for good. When girls aren’t forced to marry as children, they can focus on their education and break the cycle of malnutrition. Watch this video to learn more about the link between hunger and child marriage. Learn more.
– Promote climate change resilience. While we must all deal with the effects of climate change, people living in conditions of hunger and poverty are at the greatest risk. Building more resilient communities that can cope with environmental challenges is at the heart of The Hunger Project’s approach. Learn more.
