World Population: Global Hunger Rises

GLOBAL HUNGER is on the rise. 

This is the position currently projected by the United Nations first-ever progress measuring report on meeting new international goals pegged to eradicating hunger and malnutrition by 2030.

On September 15^th, the UN cautioned that sequel to its steady decline over a decade, global hunger has begun to pick up its momentum, but this time affecting about 815 million people in 2016 representing 11 percent of the global population.

Contained in its new edition of the annual report on world food security and nutrition, the UN says that the trend is aggravated by climate-related blows and growing conflicts, which both have been basic triggers of severe food crisis resulting also in re-emerging famines.

Also, the World Health Organization (WHO), similarly alerts that global hunger is indeed, again on the rise. The health organ warns that the situation is rapidly reversing some of the progress made over the last decade of steady decline.

The WHO notes in its new report from that an estimated 815 million people across the world were undernourished, amounting to about 11 percent of the global population marking the number up 38 million from 2015. 

The global bodies agree that 155 million children below age 5 have stunted growth looking too short for their ages, whereas another 52 million suffer from wasting making their weight too low for their height. 

As a matter of fact, “multiple forms of malnutrition are threatening the health of millions worldwide”; the WHO said, adding that, “The increase of 38 million more people than the previous year is largely due to the proliferation of violent conflicts and climate-related shocks, according to the study.”

According to the reports, over half of those suffering from the ongoing spate of hunger live in countries torn apart by ongoing armed conflict, including South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen because some of the highest proportions of malnourished children in the world are concentrated in zones of conflict. 

Citing wars and climate change as factors driving the crisis, the report says that children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition.

The UN/WHO joint report estimated the number and proportion of hungry people on the planet which includes data for the global, regional, and national levels. It also offers a significant update on the shifting global milieu that is today affecting people’s food security and nutrition, in all corners of the globe. 

Given these realities however, “addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in conflict-affected situations cannot be business as usual,” alerts the new edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017, Building Resilience for Peace and Food Security. 

The agency notes that the situation “requires a conflict-sensitive approach that aligns actions for immediate humanitarian assistance, long-term development and sustaining peace” which has been expounded by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN World Food Programme (WFP), as well as the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The concerns effected by the current development is that it sends a clear warning signal that the ambition of a world without hunger and malnutrition by 2030 will be challenging just as achieving it will require renewed efforts through new ways of working. 

Also worsening is the food security conditions that have been observed in more peaceful settings, particularly where economic meltdown has sapped foreign exchange and fiscal revenues. This trend has affected food availability through reduced import capacity and food access through reduced fiscal space to protect poor households against rising domestic food prices.

Recommendations to address food insecurity and malnutrition, according to the world bodies, include:

·         Agricultural programmes and food system policies

·         Effective humanitarian aid for people displaced by conflict

·         More support for efforts to achieve long-term peace in all nations

The agencies thereafter noted that “ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition is an ambitious goal, but it is one we strongly believe can be reached if we strengthen our common efforts and work to tackle the underlying causes that leave so many people food-insecure, jeopardizing their lives, futures, and the futures of their societies" they suggested.

In Brief: Why Population Reporting Matters

IN REPORTING on population, so many issues are inter-twined. The reporter has to contend with a  complex web of human-related issues such as the well-being of families, a clean environment, agitations for current needs as well as sustaining a resource base for future generations among others.

Other focus of relevance is the aspect of presenting the subject matters to policymakers, local communities as well as being saddled with the responsibilities of interpreting the economic development, equity, human health, environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and many more to the general populace. 

The matter does not end there. The Population Reporter still has to feature other associated topics such as the rates at which families have children, movement of people from one place to another; challenges of daily survival amidst inhumane government policies, cultural

norms, social anomalies and several others.