Hidden hunger and the suffering two billion

Food is a basic human need of the people around the world. But unfortunately, more than one billion people live on less than US$ one a day and someone dies of hunger in every 3.6 seconds.  
There are many reasons for observing the World Food Day (October 16) every year globally. And this year it is very important as it is being observed this time with the theme being 'Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth.' The theme has been chosen to highlight the importance of family farming and smallholder farmers. Considering the importance of family farming, the UN General Assembly has announced 2014 as the 'International Year of Family Farming'. It focuses the world attention on the significant role of family farming in eradicating hunger and poverty, apart from food security and nutrition, improved livelihood, management of natural resources and protection of environment. Most importantly, family farming greatly contributes to sustainable development, especially in rural areas.
According to a report of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on State of Food Insecurity in the World in 2013, 842 million people or roughly one in eight suffered from chronic hunger in 2011-13. They were not getting enough food to lead active and healthy life. That is why policymakers need to keep in mind that even when hunger is low, under-nutrition can cause health, social and economic problems.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Concern Worldwide released the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2014 on October 13 last. The GHI pointed out that two billion people were suffering from hidden hunger, even though the levels of hunger in many developing countries decreased. The report has emphasised that food quality is as important as quantity. This hidden hunger, the focus of the report, is often hard to detect, but is potentially devastating. Hidden hunger weakens the immune system, stunts physical and intellectual growth, and can lead to death. It wreaks economic havoc as well, locking countries into cycles of poor nutrition, lost productivity, poverty and reduced economic growth.
While great strides have been made to feed the world, 805 million people are still chronically undernourished, because they do not get enough food to eat.  Yet even those who eat enough calories can suffer from hidden hunger, a critical aspect of hunger and nutrition that is often overlooked. To combat it, we need to grow diverse crops and ensure availability of nutrient-rich foods, including fruits and vegetables. Preventing and treating hidden hunger require action at all levels. The global community must ensure that the post-2015 framework includes a universal goal to end hunger and malnutrition in all its forms and clear mechanisms to ensure accountability, the GHI has added.
Experts have opined that climate change will affect all four dimensions of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilisation and food system's stability. People who are already vulnerable and food-insecure are likely to be affected first.
In fact, women and girl children are prone to hunger in a direct way. They are often the first to suffer malnutrition in the family. This has repercussions on their health, their productivity, their quality of life and their survival. A mother's malnutrition not only affects her own health but also the health of her children. According to the UNICEF, despite progress, levels of malnutrition in Bangladesh are amongst the highest in the world and this is a major cause of death and disease for children and women.
The magnitude of female malnutrition and its enormous social, economic, health and developmental consequences demand strong actions. Actions need to focus on nutrients and energy intake, on disease prevention and on strengthening the caring for women and adolescent girls. Actions also need to focus on helping women produce more food for themselves and for their families. These direct actions together will complement and help the struggle for achieving the long-term goals of gender equity and women's empowerment.
The IFPRI has agreed that poverty is a major determinant of chronic household food insecurity. The poor do not have adequate purchasing power to secure their access to food, even when food is available in local markets. This is often called the 'leaking bucket effect'. The poor people, especially the women, need sustainable livelihood, which comprises capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources), and activities required for a means of living. The food policy, safety-net programmes, livelihood, relief and rehabilitation and all other working areas of Bangladesh and other developing countries should be friendly to the poor women and girl children.
The International Day for Rural Women was observed on October 15 as elsewhere in the world. Introduced by the United Nations in 2007, it recognises the critical role in, and contribution of rural women including indigenous women, to enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty. Rural women comprise more than one quarter of the total world population. Five hundred million women live below the poverty line in rural areas. Women produce 60-80 per cent of basic foodstuffs in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Caribbean.
Women account for over 50 per cent of the labour involved in intensive rice cultivation in Asia. Women do 30 per cent of the agricultural work in industrialised countries. Women head 60 per cent of households, meet 90 per cent of household water and fuel needs, and process the whole basic household foodstuffs in Africa. Moreover, women's vital contribution to society goes largely unnoticed. The government, media, civil society and definitely family members need to focus broadly on the issue.  
Above all, the policies aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and increasing food availability, especially when smallholders are targeted, can achieve hunger reduction, even where poverty is widespread. When they are combined with social protection and other measures that increase the incomes of poor families, they can have even a more positive effect and spur rural development, by creating vibrant markets and employment opportunities. It results in equitable economic growth. Therefore, let us address hunger and save billions of lives so that no one is left behind and no dies of hunger or malnutrition. Finally, we need political commitment, a holistic approach, family farming and social participation to combat hunger and ensure food security for all.

[email protected]