For a 2010 with less hunger.

Lately and for the forthcoming future we are used to receive information about how bad is the financial situation for us, the western people: rising unemployed levels, people not being able to pay the mortgages, banks not giving money to new enterprising that easily...

I would like to draw attention to what I consider the media, and ourselves, are not dealing according with its importance.

The F.A.O. estimates that about 1 billion people in the word are undernourished. They consider hunger has increased because high domestic food prices, lower incomes and increasing unemployment due to the global economic crisis. We can see more hunger statistics as well as an interactive hunger map.

There is also another web page that I consider could help us to make it relative and to make it priority our problems. In it we can easy notice that about 28000 people died daily because of not having enough to eat. At the same time, we can easily realize that more that 100,000 $ are spent daily in U.S.A. in weight loss programs.

The good news, and that should foster us, is that N.G.O. like Action Against Hunger considers that we can eradicate it (1min 35 sec video). At least, it could be addressed and stop the yearly death of 5 million infants.

I consider an enormous step forward the RUFT(Ready-to-use Therapeutic Foods). And these can be locally produced! Even small-scale production is possible, and thus contributing to the economic development of the country!

You can see an UNICEF video about the RUTF saving lives in Ethiopia.

Another important issue is that around 8,000 people die daily in Africa due to easy treatable diseases.

I take this chance to let you know that as from 15th of January 2008 a friend of mine and myself are carrying out a 24h fast. The 3-6 Euros that we save in food are given to a NGO that fights against hunger.

This way we help a bit and we come aware of what hunger could feel and how huge our human capacities are.

Sincerely,

oscgim

P.S. I believe that a 24h monthly fast, with about 100-300 Calories (kilo-calories) coming from sucrose (3-4 sugar sachets), a tinny amount of salt and about 2-5 litres of water is is not a harm for a healthy person.

P.D.2. Read about ONE action related to this issue in a more recent entry.