Find out more about hunger in Ethiopia and how you can support SCIAF in our WEE BOX, BIG change campaign and give up something for Lent to help change the lives of millions. Click on each of the questions listed below to find out more about the issue of hunger, what SCIAF is doing to help, and how you can get involved.
Hunger: What is the issue?
Over 1 billion people go to bed hungry every night – that’s one out of every six people in the world. Hunger is still the number one risk to health worldwide, greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Almost a third of children in developing countries are underweight and malnourishment plays a part in more than half of all child deaths. Millions of people across the world survive for weeks or months at a time on just one small meal a day which can sometimes be as little as a single potato.
Hunger is one of the most basic indicators of extreme poverty. It affects all areas of development: diseases are more common and more likely to be fatal, mothers are unable to breastfeed, children are too weak to go to school and families do not have the strength to earn a living.
Without tackling hunger, we can never hope to see people in some of the world’s poorest countries lift themselves out of poverty and achieve their potential.
Why in our world of plenty are people still going hungry?
World hunger is getting worse, not better. Conflict, war, poverty, natural disasters and the over-exploitation of the environment have lead to a steady growth in the number of people who are going hungry.
Climate change is also contributing to world hunger, particularly in developing countries. Many of the farmers we work with in Africa, Asia and Latin America, tell us that the weather is getting hotter and the rains are less predictable. They are finding it increasingly difficult to rely on the weather and no longer know when to plant their crops. An increase in hurricanes and landslides in Latin America has caused harvests to be washed away, and houses and livelihoods destroyed, making it even more difficult for families to grow enough food. In East Africa, year upon year of poor rains have brought droughts and failed crops, leading to wide scale food emergencies in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
The global food crisis has caused the price of food to rise, meaning that for many poor families, buying food is not an option if their crops fail.
An increase in the demand for biofuels, made from sugar cane and palm oil has led to many rural families in Latin America being thrown off their land in order to make way for sugar cane plantations. Without land of their own to farm for food, these families struggle for survival on the edge of plantations, and many of them go hungry.
Who does it affect?
The world’s poorest are the most vulnerable to hunger. Of the one billion people around the world who do not get enough to eat, three quarters of them live in poor, rural communities in developing countries. But in the slums on the outskirts of large cities, hunger is also on the increase.
Hunger is worst in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Around 60% of those affected by chronic hunger are women.
What is SCIAF doing?
Helping families to gain a secure source of food is one of SCIAF’s three main areas of work – we call it livelihoods. Livelihoods is an umbrella term for a whole host of activities all geared towards getting rid of hunger – for good.
We work with farmers to help them grow more and better crops by giving agricultural training so that they get the most out of their land. We provide others with vocational skills – like basket weaving, computing and carpentry – so that they can earn a living, buy food and provide for themselves.
Without water, it is impossible to grow food. We help communities gain better access to water so that they can keep their crops and animals healthy and have enough left over to drink, cook and clean with too. We provide seeds and tools, and animals like goats, pigs and chickens to help generate an income and a source of nutrition. Animal dung also makes a great fertiliser that gives crops a boost without costing a penny. We also work with vulnerable families living in areas affected by extreme weather, helping them to find ways of ensuring that they have a secure source of food, even when droughts, floods or hurricanes strike.
Ethiopia has some of the worst levels of hunger in the world. In the drought-prone Tigray region, many families know what it is like to survive on one small meal a day. In Tirhas’ village, we helped to build reservoir tanks, so that when the precious rain does come, it can be stored for when it is most needed rather than soaking into the ground and being lost. Concrete irrigation systems, also built with SCIAF’s help, ensure that the water is channelled directly to crops.
We worked with Tirhas and her family to help them develop better agricultural skills. Now they know what to plant and when, and how much space to leave between seedlings. They also grow a greater variety of fruit and vegetables to eat and sell. We helped them learn the true value of their new crops, so that they get the best possible price for their produce at the local market. With a better diet, and breakfast, lunch and dinner, the family are now less susceptible to disease. They feel healthier, and have extra income to buy essentials like school books, oil and clothes.
Tirhas’ dad, Gebreselassie said: “We were very hungry before. Now we have an irrigation system and we have water. We can grow crops and we have breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have a better life.”
What can I do?
By supporting SCIAF, your donations will help more people like Tirhas and her family to stand on their own to feet, and work towards a better life. Your money will go towards creating a lasting source of food for families, enabling then to enjoy a brighter, sustainable and more secure future.
Hunger and poverty are political as well as moral issues. This means that we can do something to change them.
By campaigning with SCIAF on debt, unfair trade rules and climate change, you can help to challenge the root causes of hunger and poverty and call upon those in power to make decisions that will change the lives of millions of people around the world for the better. Click here to find out more.
Sources and Statistics: SCIAF, SCIAF’s partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America, World Food Programme, UK Department for International Development, Save the Children, the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
What are you giving up?