According to the United Nations (UN), despite all the food available that can suffice the needs of the people around the world, one in every nine people is unable to fulfill his/her requirements. About two-thirds of the total population of such people live in Asia. According to an estimate, if more efforts are not made for the development of the world's food and agricultural systems, then by the year 2050, the number of people suffering from hunger will reach two billion.
Therefore, to acknowledge this concern and to encourage people to consume healthy food, every year on 16th October, World Food Day is observed. This year, the theme of the day is ‘Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our actions are our future'
Why Is World Food Day celebrated?
World Food day came into recognition in the year 1979, established by Dr. Pal Romany, former Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food. This day is celebrated by more than 150 countries of the world. The day is even more important since it marks the day when the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was also established in 1945.
What Do The Stats Say?
According to the UN, the number of undernourished people in the developing region has decreased by almost half since 1990. The percentage of 23.3 in 1990-1992 came down to 12.9% in 2014-2016. But 79.5 crore people are still undernourished. At the same time, some figures indicate that about 99% of the malnourished people are living in developing countries, of which 60% are women.
Also, every year, about 20 million babies are born underweight, because of a lack of proper nutrition intake by women during pregnancy. At the same time, malnutrition accounts for about 50% of the total deaths of children under 5 years of age.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stats, more than 3 billion people, i.e. almost 40% of the world's population cannot afford a healthy diet. While 2 million people are obese or overweight due to poor diet and sedentary lifestyles.
Recently, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, information was sought from the Ministry of Women and Child Development regarding the current data related to malnutrition. According to the data, till November 2020, severe malnutrition was identified in about 9,27,606 children in the age group of six months to six years in India.
Therefore, as we celebrate World Food Day, let us all pledge to be grateful for the food we get to eat and be thankful to all the people who work against all the odds to ensure we have food to eat. We shall also never waste food and feed the needy. Let us also join our hands and come together to eradicate hunger, so that no one dies of it or suffers from malnutrition.
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