Hunger in the News: School lunch, Yemen, and conflict

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Hunger in the News

High Malnutrition Rate and Hunger in India, Shows New Report,” by NDTV

India’s malnutrition rate is higher than North Korea and Myanmar, a new report on the Global Hunger Index shows. India ranks at 100 out of 119 ranked countries on the index, an extremely poor score. Over 20 percent of Indian children are too short for their height. India’s GHI stands at 31.4, which is considered a “serious” level.

Viet Nam: Children at risk of malnutrition in aftermath of Typhoon Damrey, reports UNICEF,” by UN News Center

In the aftermath of Typhoon Damrey, which hit south central Vietnam early in November, many people are at risk of malnutrition and food insecurity. Over 150,000 children under the age of 5 and 80,000 pregnant women are at risk of malnutrition and need care. Sanitation systems are also damaged, bringing the specter of disease on top of hunger. People have also resorted to drinking unclean water since normal water distribution was disrupted by the storm.

Feeding the need: Expanding school lunch programs,” by CBS News

Over 20,000 schools have expanded their free school lunch programs in an attempt to combat child hunger. Many schools have implemented programs to provide free food for all students to avoid singling out students from low-income families. Thirty million school children benefit from these sorts of programs, providing a key source of nutrition for kids who often do not know where their next meal is coming from.

Millions of People May Die If Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Allow Aid to Enter Yemen Immediately,” by Casey Quackenbush, Time 

The United Nations World Food Project and two other UN agencies issued a dire warning this week, calling for Saudi Arabia to immediately end its blockade of Yemen and to allow food aid into the struggling nation. Seven million people rely entirely on food imports, which mainly come through one of the rebel held, blockaded ports. Twenty million people in Yemen suffer from acute food insecurity, including 11 million children. Millions could die if the blockade does not end, and the now diminishing cholera epidemic could flare up again.

Conflicts, climate change drive food insecurity and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa,” by UN News Center

The United Nations’ World Food Project has said undernourishment in Sub-Saharan Africa increased from 2015 to 2016, with 22 percent of the population undernourished in 2016 compared to 20 percent in 2015. This increase is primarily attributed to the effects of climate change and conflict in the region. The El Nino and other effects of climate change contributed to failed harvests across the region, exacerbating food insecurity and undernourishment.

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