HUNGER GAMES
“The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.”JohnF.Kennedy
In the year 2018, A 13-year-old girl from Lakhimpur in Uttar Pradesh hanged herself after starving
for more than two days – her father had passed away and her mother had found no
work as a laborer. In the same week, a tribal youth in Kerala was beaten to
death for stealing a kilo of rice from a grocery store. He had earlier resorted
to begging and then to stealing; when
“HUNGER”, the only
problem in the world, which is not solved yet. Yes, hunger has been a major
problem in big metropolitan cities like New York, Mumbai, and Buenos Aires etcetera.
It is not that it cannot be solved, it is the ignorance of global leaders which
makes it hard to eradicate.
Why is hunger a major problem even during the age of technological advancements?
Although the world
economy as achieved its heights, about two-thirds of the world population, still
suffer from hunger. The United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 815
million people of the 7.6 billion people in the world, or 10.7%, were suffering
from chronic undernourishment in 2016. Almost all the hungry people live in
lower-middle-income countries. There are 11 million people undernourished in
developed countries.
The world’s population
has steadily grown, with most people living in urban areas. Technology has
“evolved at a dizzying pace, while the economy has become increasingly
interconnected and globalized.”
So what are the causes
of hunger?
- ·
Mainly ignorance
by global leaders
- ·
Poverty: When people are in a state of poverty, they lack the
resources to cover their basic needs such as food, water, and shelter.
- ·
Gender
inequality: Though women participate in the production of food in developing countries and are typically the primary
caregivers for children, gender inequality in societies leads to a higher malnutrition rate among women and girls.
- · Seasonal changes: For people who live in rural areas and rely on farming and livestock for food and income, seasonal changes in climate, along with food prices and availability, affect hunger.
India, the story of hunger and poverty
India, one of the
leading countries in the world, and 5th largest economy in the
world, still faces problems related to hunger and poverty can you believe it?
India ranks in 103rd in the global hunger
index, and we have not seen any improvement in the ranks for a long time.
People on the streets are dying because of hunger and poverty and what are the rich
doing? Wasting money, just because they earned it? wasting food just because they didn't like it?
The history of the nation won’t record the names
of Shikha, Manasi, or Parul in its pages.
It is used to chronicling only the
affairs of heroes, villains, and political leaders. The joys and sorrows of ordinary
people don’t usually find a place in our historical tomes. Let me inform you: three innocent girls died in Delhi’s Mandawali area. The post-mortem revealed that their stomachs did
not have even a single trace of food. In other words, they had not eaten for
many days. You can well imagine what these girls underwent in their final
moments! They might not have understood the dictionary meaning of the word
‘hunger’, but they lost their life because of it.
Is this what we all
wanted? To see people starve to death when we can afford to waste food. So what
can you do to stop hunger? do share your ideas in the comment section.
SOURCE: NDTV, YOUTUBE
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