Why?
Every day children are dying from hunger-related causes
Hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Poor nutrition causes 45% of deaths in children under five (each year, around 3.1 million children die from hunger related causes). Children suffering from acute malnutrition are 2.5 times more likely to die than children without malnutrition; and those with severe acute malnutrition are 9 times more likely to die than a properly nourished child.
People are negatively affected by undernourishment
Hunger has a negative impact on health, productivity, overall well-being and sense of hope. Among other things, a lack of food can also stunt growth and contribute to developmental disabilities. Poor nutrition affects the physical and mental development of young children, particularly those in their first 1,000 days, from pregnancy to 2 years of age with life-long consequences for individuals, communities and economies.
Hunger can affect the quality of a child’s education
In Africa, 23 million primary school go to school hungry. When hungry, children can find it very difficult to concentrate. In Zimbabwe, children would often faint in class as result of hunger.
We all have a right to food.
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states that: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food.""