World Hunger

November 3, 2012 World Hunger and Poverty Our world population is 6.8 billion but yet 925 million people do not have enough to eat more than the populations of USA, Canada and the European Union combined. 98% of the world's undernourished people live in developing countries and Two-thirds of the world's hungry live in just 7 countries: Bangladesh, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Some of the worst worst poverty ridden countries are Asia and the Pacific at 578 million, Sub-Saharan Africa at 239 million,, Latin America and the Caribbean at 53 million, Near East and North Africa at 37 million and developed countries at 19 million. 60 percent of the world's hungry are women and 50 percent of pregnant women in developing countries lack proper maternal care, resulting in over 300,000 maternal deaths annually from childbirth. 1 out of 6 infants are born with a low birth weight in developing countries. Malnutrition is the key factor contributing to more than one-third of all global child deaths resulting in 2.6 million deaths per year and a third of all childhood death in sub-Saharan Africa is caused by hunger. Every five seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases. 1.4 billion people in developing countries live on $1.25 a day or less. Rural areas account for three out of every four people living on less than $1.25 a day and 22,000 children die each day due to conditions of poverty. The Rural Hunger Project partners have access to income-generating workshops, empowering their self-reliance. Our Microfinance Program in Africa provides access to credit, adequate training and instilling in our partners the importance of saving.