World's poorest facing food costs more than three times their income
The world's poorest people are facing food costs that are more than three times their income, according to a new report.
Friday 6 July 2007
Every minute of every day, ten children under five die from hunger.
Hunger is responsible for 5.6 million child deaths a year. Millions more children around the world will be stunted because of this persistent hunger, which will affect their entire lives. Poverty is the underlying cause of this silent emergency.
"The poorest families simply do not have the money to afford to ever feed their children enough good food for them to grow up healthy and strong. Poverty has condemned them to a hand-to-mouth existence and their children to a future of stunting or early death," said Costanza de Toma, Save the Children's Hunger Advocacy Adviser.
The new report, Running on Empty, measures for the first time just how wide the gap is between the price of feeding a family enough nutritious food to be healthy and how much people in developing countries can hope to earn.
The research for the report was carried out in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Myanmar (Burma) and Tanzania. Results showed that between 15 (in Ethiopia) and 79 (in Bangladesh) per cent of households simply can't afford to feed their children a healthy diet.
The estimated cost of a healthy diet for the poorest in the study locations in the four countries would be like an average household in the UK facing a weekly shopping bill of up to £1,700.
The comparative cost of the diet compared with the equivalent average weekly earnings in the UK, was:
- Bangladesh £1,704 a week
- Ethiopia £677 a week
- Myanmar £584 a week
- Tanzania £593 a week
Running on Empty film
Running on Empty, a co-production between Save the Children UK and the Television Trust for the Environment, tells the story of two young mothers, Asemu in northern Ethiopia and Dawn in Wales.They're the same age, 22. Both have children under two. Neither can afford to feed her children properly. Both rely on cash benefits. It's a shocking fact that today hunger still kills half the children under five who die each year.
Watch the film Running on Empty.
What we are doing
Save the Children believes that one of the best ways to tackle chronic child malnutrition and meet the first Millennium Development Goal is to provide regular cash benefits, like social security benefit or child benefits, to the poorest families as it has proven to be one of the most effective ways to tackle malnutrition. The charity is calling for national governments, DFID and the governments of other G8 countries to support cash benefit schemes.
"Food aid can be a blunt tool for tackling chronic malnutrition. Putting cash, rather than food, directly into people's hands means they can buy what they need, not take what they are given. Save the Children is already doing this and we know it works - it is an effective and efficient way to beat child hunger," said Costanza de Toma.
How you can help
- Support Save the Children's work.
You can support our work by donating online via our secure web pages or call 020 7012 6400
