Make Worldwide Hunger a Priority

Every day, more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. Few of these deaths are due to outright starvation, but rather to common illnesses (like diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, malaria and measles) that move in on vulnerable children whose bodies have been weakened by hunger.

The scope of the problem is immense with an estimated 815 million undernourished people in the developing world, consuming less than the minimum amount of calories essential for sound health and growth. And with the surge in food prices over the past few years, the number of children and families living with serious food insecurity is dramatically rising.

It's been said that the era of cheap food is over, and that high food prices will remain with us for at least another 15 years. That makes it all the more imperative to deal with root causes of hunger.

Unlike famine, chronic hunger is a persistent and insidious condition that can affect generations of people in a geographic region. To alleviate this condition, efforts must address root causes, be sustainable, and they must be implemented by local people for the long term.

One important strategy is to focus on women.

Women are the primary caretakers of children under the age of five -- the ones most vulnerable to the ravages of chronic hunger and malnutrition. Also, research confirms that mothers tend to use new income and resources for the benefit of their children. By putting powerful resources directly into the hands and minds of women, you affect the nutrition, health and education of an entire household. Investments in women ripple out from her to her family, her community, and society at large.

[Your comments]

Therefore, given the above, I urge to make worldwide hunger a priority for your administration to prioritize development efforts towards women.