December 10, 1990

World hunger is very much alive as the 1990s begin. A report on the state of world hunger by the Bread for the World Institute on Hunger and Development called "Hunger 1990" begins this way: "More than half a billion of the world's people are chronically hungry. This is a conservative estimate. Many others are vulnerable to periods of hunger during the year. Good intentions have not sufficiently translated into effective action and, consequently, hunger has been increasing."

In November 1974, the United Nation's World Food Conference proclaimed that "within a decade no child will go to bed hungry, that no family will fear for its next day's bread and that no human being's future and capabilities will be stunted by malnutrition."

This was a bold statement in 1974; not only was the promise not fulfilled but sixteen years later hunger is still "a haunting daily experience that has increased by one-third." Forty thousand children under the age of five die each day from malnutrition and infections. This number is equal to 100 jumbo jets each loaded with 400 children crashing and killing all on board every day -- one every 14 minutes.

Almost one-half of the world's malnourished children live in the seven countries of South Asia.

Poverty is behind most hunger. The World Bank estimates that of the world's 5.3 billion people, 1.1 billion living in developing countries are poor. The poverty level in these countries is calculated as $370 per capita per year. In developing countries, 630 million people have incomes below $275 per capita per year.

The report substantiates a conclusion about world hunger that is well-known by people in development organizations like MCC but little emphasized by the secular media, namely, that there is a close link between military conflict and hunger. "Armed conflicts, which during the past decade killed almost three times as many civilians as soldiers, also leave in their wake dislocated people, disrupted economies, poverty and famine. When people living on the edge of subsistence suffer from war, the result is often hunger and starvation," the report says.

A list of countries where active wars are directly linked to hunger conditions includes:

• Afghanistan, where there is extensive hunger and millions of refugees depend upon food assistance

• Cambodia, where civil war may cause a repeat of the 1970's when there were a million hunger related deaths

• India and Pakistan, where there is potential for conventional or nuclear war* Philippines, where there is conflict causing extensive disruption of food distribution

• Sri Lanka, where civil war has disrupted food production

• Angola, where 1.5 million people face famine because of war

• Ethiopia and Eritrea, where famine is affecting up to 5 million people

• Mozambique, where interrupted food production and distribution has placed five million people in famine

• Somalia, where there are a million refugees facing famine

• El Salvador, where food production has been disrupted and hunger is wide-spread because of civil strife

Bread for the World's "Hunger 1990" study draws six action-oriented conclusions about hunger today. We would all do well to reflect on these points as we, as individuals and groups, attempt to effectively respond to world hunger.

The conclusions in brief are these:

1. Militarization is a primary cause of hunger. Military spending should be reduced in all nations; most of the savings should be redirected to meet human needs.

2. National and international development efforts have often overlooked women's needs and skills. Women should be full participants in the design and execution of programs to reduce hunger and its structural causes.

3. Environmental destruction, rapid population growth and hunger are closely related. Plans to protect fragile ecosystems must be integrated with plans to meet urgent social needs, and vice-versa.

4. While economic growth is an important part of overcoming poverty, but it alone is not enough. National programs for economic and human resource development must target poor people and ensure their access to basic social services, land and other productivity enhancing resources.

5. Progress against hunger and poverty depends mainly on the initiative of poor people and others in developing countries. International assistance should support national programs which build on what people are doing for themselves.6) Industrial country policies regarding trade, debt, and development aid often contribute to poverty and hunger. The international economic policies of the United States and those of other industrialized countries should be reshaped to address the needs of developing nations.