There's no sugar coating this: India has more people suffering from hunger than any other country in the world. More than 200 million don't get enough to eat, and according to the 2008 Global Hunger Index just released, not one of India's 17 states rank in the low- or moderate-hunger categories — and 12 states have rank "alarming." India is 66th out of 88 countries surveyed (a stat in itself that makes you think of those 22 other countries that are worse.)
Kids bear a lot of the brunt of the hunger crisis — numbers released two years ago showed that even then, more than half of the children in India were malnourished. The rise in global food prices not mirrored in rising incomes has made the problem worse. As grim as this news sounds, there are people doing work to help. To find out which former presidential candidates just won an award for their work on hunger, read more.
Former candidates Bob Dole and George McGovern have just been awarded the World Food Prize for their work to alleviate global hunger. The Republican/Democrat duo created the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food For Education and Nutrition Program. The prize president says, "There's a significant message that's included by having them both honored, one Democrat, one Republican."
Despite efforts, more work is needed. The World Health Organization just warned that the life expectancy between rich and poor countries varies by as much as 40 years. Let's hope increased bipartisan efforts will do the world some more good.
Burberry
This is insane.
1This is awful.
2This is exactly why i'm getting into International Human Rights Law..soo sad.
3And to think we have a child obesity problem. Sometimes it is like we live in different realities not just different nations!
4wanna talk about a huge gap between the rich and the poor? go to india, the caste system is ridiculous and is causing much of that countries poverty to extend through generations.
5This is sad to read, but is honestly not surprised. As CaterpillarGirl said, much of the countries poverty can be blamed on it's caste system. Which sadly, means as much help as outside sources try to give, the lowest class (the dalets) rarely see it.
6It makes it seem even crazier that we have so many people here starving themselves on purpose... Completely different realities as zeze said!
7It's even more sad to think that there's plenty of food in the world, we (as a global community as well as India on a domestic level) seem to have problems distributing it evenly.
The Caste system really angers me. Especially because of how corrupt it has become and how those in "upper castes" use to it abuse others in order to stay on top. UGH!
8"India is 66th out of 88 countries surveyed" What does that mean?
9So much for the UN Millennium Declaration, which seeks to end poverty and inequality worldwide by 2015. Will this ever happen? I doubt it.
10I think it means that International Food Policy and Research surveyed 88 countries, of those India is the 68th worst rank country in terms of hunger. Although India has the most hungry population, that's still only 20% of India's 1 billion+ total population.
And I assume that the even lower ranked countries have a higher hungry vs. non-hungry ratio.
11And of course, I always feel fat.
12Tiabia, you're probably right, I just wish the article explained that a little more clearly.
13This is absolutely awful. What an illustration of the horrors caused by a rigid class/caste system. We should all feel fortunate to live in a society that at least tries give to give ample opportunities for people to rise above the limitations of the socioeconomic class into which they were born.
14It isn't JUST the caste system that is to blame. My family is from India, and my mother's side was dirt poor, and skipped a number of meals. However, her family is from the second highest caste. The caste system is mainly only of importance to the uneducated people in India (which granted, is many). In general, India is not at all like the US with regards to charity. Indians are not encouraged to give to those less fortunate in India, and they generally don't.
15I completely agree filmgirl81.
India's (or rather the Hindu) caste system is very misunderstood. I don't at all condone what it has become, but what it used to be is very different from what it now represents and imposes on the people.
16This is so sad to read, and I certainly believe that children are unfortunately bearing "the brunt" of so many problems. My family and I traveled to India this summer, and it was jarring to see so many children out on the streets begging for food.
17I would also like to add, that a number of the richest people in the world live in India. Also, a lot of the problem with starving children is the population crises. The government refuses to address birth control and safe sex.
18I'm with filmgirl81 too. Being from India, I know that there are number of things contributing to the poverty:
- the lack of literacy in some states.
- the caste system, again, in some states. The govt. has tried to integrate them into society, with moderate success. However, old prejudices die hard, esp. when a state has lower literacy.
- corrupt politicians that prey on the weak
- the evergrowing population, and lack of sex education. It's mostly a taboo topic, and one's that difficult to broach
- the stark difference between the metropolitan cities and the villages. There's not a lot of balance in wealth.
- attitudes towards female children. There are still some communities that believe that girls are a "curse" and a "burden." This leads to female infanticide and a growing gender division. It's reached the stage where there are villages that simply cannot find brides for the men.
- higher rates of inflation, esp. food prices.
And so much more...
19Hemlyn said it- my family is from India and most of my father's side is very wealthy. They never give to charity and their idea of helping the poor is employing them as servants. The culture is one of helping yourself first and always. It is sad and I hate to say this but most of the villages and the poor receive help mainly from compassionate Indians that reach out to other nations.
20>- the evergrowing population, and lack of sex education. It's mostly a taboo topic, and one's that difficult to broach
Hemlyn, agreed!
Instead of the spending freeze McCain is proposing, I'd rather see a baby freeze. No more people until we can take care of the ones we already made.
21Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.