Objective 3: To know who is hungry and
malnourished in the world

Materials

Picture: Map of World Hunger

Fact Sheet: Who is Vulnerable?

Concepts:
- Hunger is not getting enough of the right kinds of foods to meet nutritional needs
- All countries and regions have some people who are hungry

Content

• Hunger is not having enough food and not having the variety of foods needed to meet nutritional needs. Hunger is a problem all over the world. Every country and every region has some people who do not get enough to eat. While hunger is present in every country, some countries and regions have a greater problem feeding their people.
• In the year 2001, 800 million people are hungry and do not get enough to eat all year long. The goal of the new millennium is to make sure everyone has enough food and the right kinds of food to eat.
• Hunger has many causes, and it will take much work to solve the problems it causes. Many people are working together in all parts of the world to identify causes and search for solutions to the hunger problem.
• All people, including students, can be a part of this effort by learning as much as they can about hunger and how to prevent it.

Activities

• Hold up the picture Map of World Hunger, which indicates areas with serious hunger and malnutrition problems. Explain how the map shows the areas where many people do not get all of the foods that they need. Point out the areas with the largest numbers of hungry people. Explain that all countries have some hungry people.
• Identify your area/region of the world and discuss your own area's problem with hunger. Ask students if they know who might be hungry in their area.
• Discuss how hunger occurs for many reasons, how it takes much work to solve the problemn and how many people are working to learn why people are hungry and to find ways to ensure there is good food, all year long, for everyone.
• Discuss how the people in the world can work together so that everyone will have enough and the right kinds of food to eat.

Concept: Hunger and malnutrition exist in some form in every country among certain vulnerable groups

• Although some countries have more hungry people - both in terms of total numbers and as a percentage of the population - no country is free from hunger and malnutrition. To work toward solutions to the problem of hunger, we must know who the hungry are.
• The fact sheet Who is Vulnerable? provides a list of vulnerable groups throughout the world. Discuss how within each area, the people who are most likely to be hungry are the poor, people without an education or a secure job, people without land on which to grow food and people with special nutritional needs, such as children (who need to grow) and pregnant and nursing women. Wars, civil disturbances, climate and environmental changes and other emergencies such as floods and earthquakes often cause both short and long-term hunger in an area.

Activities

• Review the list of vulnerable groups given in the fact sheet Who is Vulnerable?. As time permits, ask students why each group is vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition.
• Relate the hunger problems in your area to the vulnerable groups. How many of the hungry people are from the vulnerable groups listed? For instance, is your local problem with hunger more related to victims of conflict, to those who are socially disadvantaged or to migrant populations, etc.? Ask students if they can think of other groups in their area who might be vulnerable to hunger and why.

Summary

Lesson 1 introduced students to the importance of food for growth and body functioning, in order to provide a context for the discussion of hunger. The scope and global perspective of hunger was presented, as well as an overview of the groups who are vulnerable to hunger throughout the world. After completion of Lesson 1 students should be able to state that:

• Food and the nutrients it contains are essential to life.
• We need a variety of foods for good health.
• Many of the traditional diets that are healthful contain a starchy staple food and smaller amounts of accompanying foods.
• All countries have problems of hunger and malnutrition.
• Certain groups are more vulnerable to hunger.
• Hunger in the world affects everyone.

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