Established in 1991, the Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF) seeks to end hunger among children and families worldwide. Since 1991, 96 percent of CHF revenue has supported programs designed to address the various causes of global hunger.
One in nine people suffer from hunger daily. Hunger often stems from food insecurity or an individual's or family’s inability to access the requisite amount of food. Moreover, individuals and families can't predict the source and timing of their following meals. More than 44 million Americans deal with food insecurity, including 13 million children.
Due to the widespread nature of hunger and food insecurity, the causes can be pretty diverse. Arguably, it often originates from poverty. Households with low incomes often struggle to pay for quality food and experience the effects of undernourishment. Undernourishment can lead to difficulty concentrating and thriving as productive members of society, further impairing their ability to afford enough healthy food.
In certain regions, families may deal with financial issues by selling livestock. It provides an immediate influx of funds but negatively impacts the family’s access to meat and dairy; they also cannot use livestock to produce long-term revenue. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the poorest nations, nearly half of the population does not meet daily minimum nutrient recommendations.
For some, poverty goes hand in hand with war and other large-scale conflicts. The conflicts frequently result in the destruction and abandonment of crops. Crop failure in South Sudan has led to a food crisis for 7.2 million people.
However, war does not cause all food shortages; sometimes, it stems from climate change. As Earth experiences weather cycles and patterns, some regions undergo unseasonable heat waves or excessive rainfall in others. For example, Malawi remains politically stable in the Horn of Africa. Nonetheless, it has experienced extensive droughts followed by periods of intense flooding, resulting in millions of Africans feeling hungry for several days. According to the World Bank, upwards of 100 million people will enter poverty as a result of climate change within the next 10 years, further exacerbating issues of hunger.
In some cases, there is very little individuals can do about regional hunger issues. A national failure to properly invest in agriculture and a supporting infrastructure makes it hard for food to reach the communities where it is needed most. Similarly, economic challenges often contribute to hunger problems. Liberia’s economy struggled following an Ebola outbreak in 2014. Half a decade later, 50 percent of the nation lives under the poverty line, and the 2021 Global Hunger Index listed Liberia at No. 110 out of 116 countries graded for hunger conditions.
Some individuals have access to food, but it does not meet nutritional value standards. Households below the poverty line often derive nutrients from one or two staple food groups, like wheat or corn. These diets lack many vitamins and nutrients, resulting in the same adverse health effects of hunger.
Other issues that may contribute to hunger include forced migration, gender inequality, and food waste. Several organizations worldwide continue working to address food insecurity and its many causes. A few of these organizations include the CHF, the Hunger Project, Meals on Wheels, and Action Against Hunger.
