Do more to combat hunger, say NGOs
Friday, October 15, 2010 06:40:58 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi:
On the eve of World Food Day and in the backdrop of the release of
the Global Hunger Index report 2010, civil society organisations
Friday said India should focus on inclusive growth with special
focus on malnourished children to combat hunger.
"The Global Hunger Index report highlights the fact that children
form the largest chunk of victims of hunger worldwide, accounting
for almost half of those affected. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa
and South Asia were shown to have the highest levels of hunger,"
an official of the NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) said.
Sharing some of their case studies, the official said: "We found
two-and-a- half year old Suraj Basfore living on the platform of
the Kalyani railway station in Kolkata along with his
five-year-old sister. Their combined earning was Rs.20-25 a day
which is duly handed over to their father, a leprosy patient, who
begs for a living."
Breakfast for the kids is a chapati which the two share, lunch is
about two handfuls of rice and dal and another two handfuls of the
same accounts for dinner.
"The total calorific value of both the kids put together is 1,000
calories. In other words, both the kids, surviving on throw-away
food on the railway platform, were facing chronic starvation," the
official said.
"India alone accounts for a large share of the world's
undernourished children. In 2005-06, about 44 percent of Indian
children under age five were underweight and 48 percent were
stunted. Because of the country's sheer size, these numbers mean
that India is home to 42 percent of the world's underweight
children," the official added.
Urging the government to take necessary action, Sandeep Chachra,
executive director of ActionAid India, said: "The dark side of
India's economic growth has been that peasants, workers and
excluded social groups have been further dispossessed, compounding
malnutrition, hunger and even leading to starvation deaths."
"Access to basic rights and social inclusion are critical in
advancing participatory democracy and addressing chronic poverty
and hunger," he added.
In his message, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that for
many, World Food Day will be just another 'No Food Day'.
"Although the number of hungry people has fallen from last year's
historic high of more than one billion, there are still 925
million hungry people in the world. We are continually reminded
that the world's food systems are not working in ways that ensure
food security for the most vulnerable members of our societies,"
he said.
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