Food insecurity lingers as global economic growth slows

Introduction

The International Monetary fund (IMF) has released its monthly publication which contains updates on the state of global economy. For this month of July 2024, the reality on ground does not match forecasts and predictions made previously. The world economy is in a state of slow growth. The document analyzing the state of world economy is called the World Economic Outlook. You can see a copy here.

One of the realities presented in the document for July 2024 is that the world is in a state of slow-motion growth. Specific figures convey that idea that if nothing is down, global economic growth will eventually come to a complete halt and eventually start rolling back. Compare these stats below:

global growth is expected to reach 3.2 percent this year and 3.3 percent in 2025, well below the 3.8 percent average from the turn of the century until the pandemic. source

A lot of world problems have been identified to contribute to this state of stagnant growth. One of the main issues is hunger and food insecurity. More and more people are either going to bed hungry or they are just managing anything to just get by. The number of people facing severe food insecurity have continued to rise in recent times especially since after COVID-19.

The pandemic already set back the fight. Extreme poverty increased after decades of decline, while global hunger surged and the long-term decline in inequality across countries stalled. source

Global hunger has drastically increased steadily since after the pandemic. As a result, it has had a terrible drag on global growth of the economy in addition to many other social problems. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) continues to work hard to feed the world, but hunger and food insecurity persists. Stats available covering the year 2023 shows that more than 700 million people worldwide sleep without eating anything all day.

FAO devised a metric with which to measure the state of hunger. The categorization puts the world's hungry into 3 main categories. Lets take a look at each. The worlds more than 700 million people suffering from different stages of food insecurity are spread across those 3 categories.

The state of hunger and food Insecurity

The categories of food insecurity are explained below:

• Mild food insecurity: Those in this group are not particularly facing food crisis. They might have food to eat but are not sure if the next meal would be available. Their means of livelihood does not guarantee standard feeding for some extended period of time. While they have something to eat at the moment, people experiencing mild food insecurity are bothered about how to provide the next meal for the family. This constant worry definitely have adverse effects on their health, state of mind, and productivity at the end of the day.

Mild food insecurity is still manageable as some assistance from the government could help stabilize the means of livelihood. A pay rise, intervention from government or private programs or even taking up side job could rescue the situation and prevent it from escalating into something more serious.

• Moderate food insecurity: The problem at this level is now a matter of serious concern. Those in this group have their resources pushed to the wall such that they cannot provide the complete number of quality meals needed to live. In moderate food insecurity, victims cannot afford 3-square meals a day. They might eat anything just to fight back hunger.

In situations where it is heading into crisis, people skip meals or just goes for the poorest quality of food because they cannot afford the right food with standard nutrition for the body. As a result, health problems might arise since the body would be starved of vital nourishment to keep it healthy.

Urgent attention is required for people that are facing moderate food insecurity. Full intervention from external sources or having access to government programs might be one way to cope. Also getting proper work to fund a decent live would be another solution although this is not always easy. But whatever the situation is, averting hunger should be a priority in other to save the situation.

• Hunger: At this point there is a serious emergency to life. Severe food insecurity or hunger is the level where there is no food at all to eat. There is equally no sure hope of when the next meal would be available. In this category are people that spend an entire day with nothing to eat. Unfortunately, millions of people in the world are already facing and living this reality - including children.

Hunger and the global economic growth

Hunger is a social problem with huge economic implications. The world is already experiencing stunted economic growth partly because more than 700 million people have nothing to eat. Here are two ways hunger hunts down both local and global economies:

Complications that affect productivity will immediately become obvious. A lot of things could go wrong in a hungry person. To begin with, it affects their mental state and prevents the person from having a proper mental coordination. This will definitely affect both the quality and quantity of work they can do. Output is greatly affected because the mind is messed up by hunger.

In addition, psychological problems created by hunger can manifest in many ways such as increased anger levels. Being prone to anger also affects a persons ability to work well especially when he is involved in team work. It will result in constant fights and disagreements with the team even when there is really nothing worth fighting for. Simple compliments could end up a serious argument.

A hungry person will definitely develop health complications. Such a person might easily fall ill. As a result, they will not be able to keep up healthy levels of productivity compared to others. In extension, they will need to constantly take medications which will also cost money besides taking them off the workplace. When a person is sick, he will either work a little or not work at all.

Finally

There are many other obvious reasons that make hunger a huge socio-economic problem for the world. Its in our best interest to put resources together and fight this enemy.

Do you think a world without hunger is possible? Can we feed the world? Share your views in the comment section of this article.

References

The author consulted the materials below while researching this topic

• A Low-Growth World Is an Unequal, Unstable World
• Hunger and food insecurity

note: thumbnail is from Unsplash

Posted Using InLeo Alpha