What is Hunger?

The Consequences of Malnutrition and More

Malnutrition can cause irreversable damage.
© WHH963 million people (FAO, Dec. 2008) suffer from hunger worldwide,  907 millions of them live in developing countries. Malnutrition is a quantitative term. According to the United Nations (FAO), hunger occurs when, over a lengthy period of time, the daily energy intake lies under the minimum requirements for a healthy body and an active life. Chronic malnutrition is not always apparent at first sight: Many of those affected are thin, but not necessarily emaciated. The consequences, however, are dramatic.

Physical impact

The human body compensates for inadequate nutrition by curbing physical and mental activity. Hunger deprives people of their initiative and ability to concentrate, leaving them in a state of apathy. The normal cognitive and physical development of children can be irreversibly damaged. An undernourished person’s bones become brittle due to lack of minerals. Antibodies and other proteins diminish in the bloodstream causing a weakening of the immune system and greater vulnerability to infectious disease. The slightest illness can become fatal.

Women grinding corn in
Burkina Faso. © WHHFrom hardship to disaster

Chronic hunger leads to premature death and is intrinsically linked to the general economic underdevelopment of many countries. Hunger is frequently the result of war, displacement and/or natural disaster. Such factors often make it impossible for people to access their fields or supplies, or even worse, destroy them completely. Aggravated by general poverty and inadequate nutrition, the situation can soon lead to acute hunger. If the crisis isn’t mitigated early enough and its deterioration prevented, then the result can be a famine. People starve to death. In extreme cases, the situation can deteriorate into a famine crisis. It’s impossible to say exactly how many people die worldwide as a consequence of malnutrition, but estimates locate the figure around 25,000 to 30,000 people per day worldwide (BMZ 2008). One third of them are children under the age of 5. The death of three million children a year – that is, 8,000 children a day – is directly attributable to malnutrition.