“A hungry man is not a free man”- Adlai E Stevenson. This quote has a very strong thought-evoking connotation.

The criticality of world hunger can be witnessed in its inclusion as one of the most crucial UN Millennium Development Goals. Research reveals that Asia and the Pacific alone comprises of 578 million of the world’s hungry. It also means to say that it is the world’s largest hunger population. Even though there is enough food in the world, it’s the accessibility that poses a challenge.

Here are some hunger facts on World Hunger:

1. 13.1 percent of the world’s population is hungry.
2. The world produces enough food to feed its entire population of 7 billion people, but accessibility is an issue.
3. While hunger exists worldwide, 62.4 percent of the hunger exists in Asia/South Pacific.
4. More than 20 percent of children in Asia and Africa are underweight for their age.
5. One in every eight people on Earth goes to bed hungry each night.
6. Hunger ranks first on the list of the world’s top ten health risks. It kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
7. A third of all deaths in children under the age of five in developing countries are linked to under-nutrition.
8. Hunger is the single biggest solvable problem facing the world today.
9. Over the past 20 years, the number of people living with chronic hunger has declined by 130 million people. The prevalence of undernourishment in developing countries has fallen from 23.2 to 14.9 percent over the period 1990–2010​.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation implements the mid-day meal programme in more than 9000 Government schools across 9 states of India. With the support of Government and well wishers, this programme has grown from a humble beginning of feeding 1500 children to 1.3 million children every day. Below are some of the thoughts shared by our well wishers on Akshaya Patra:

• Goodwill Ambassador of Akshaya Patra – Shankar Mahadevan says, “I had a dream to help the hungry. While we thought of starting a community kitchen to feed the hungry, we were clueless as to how and where to begin. But Akshaya Patra has made my dream come true. Through my association as a Goodwill Ambassador with the Foundation, I hope to make a difference. This is truly a God given opportunity.”
• Chairman Manipal Universal Learning and Akshaya Patra Trustee, T.V Mohandas Pai on the occasion of serving the billionth meal by the Foundation said, “India is the world’s largest democracy, a growing economic power, and yet hunger affects over 40% of her children.” He maintained that The Akshaya Patra Foundation is the only one of its kind organization that does not want to exist in future because it envisions a future that does not require it.”
• Chairman Emeritus- Infosys, N.R Narayan Murthy says, “Akshaya Patra is a success story of hope, fairness, justice, and opportunity for all children.”

On World Hunger Day, join hands with Akshaya Patra and play a contributing role in fighting world hunger.

Source:

https://www.wfp.org/stories/10-things-you-need-know-about-hunger-2013
https://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-world-hunger