|
21% Of Parents Globally Say
Their Children Have Gone To Bed Hungry In The Last Month, A Survey In 16
Countries
Key findings
 Six in ten (59%) parents/guardians are
very concerned about child hunger and malnutrition in their
family, particularly those from lower-income countries (73%).
Moreover, the problem is perceived to be getting worse compared
to five years ago, both in one’s own community (60%) and in one’s own
country (65%), but, especially, globally (71%).
These concerns are informed by the
lived experiences of global citizens who are struggling to put food on the
table for themselves and for their children.
Notably, in the last 30 days:
- 46% have worried about finding the money to
buy food for their family;
- 30% have not known where their next meal will
come from;
- 21% say a child in their household has gone
to bed hungry due to a lack of availability of food, rising to 38% in
low-income countries.
Among those who have had to put a
child to bed hungry, the main causes of hunger in their
family are said to be inflation and the cost of living (46%), low
household income (39%), and not enough government focus on ending hunger
(25%).
Hunger is a global
problem, and isn’t limited to any one country or part of the globe. A life
of plenty for every child is possible, yet every day more children go
hungry. Parents are queuing for food everywhere, and are facing impossible
choices.
— Andrew Morley
President & CEO, World Vision International
Malnutrition is widespread and not
contained to lower-income countries
The problem of malnutrition is
widespread and 37% of parents globally say that their children do not
receive the proper nutrients that they need on a daily basis. While this
sentiment is felt more widely in lower-income countries such as Chad (66%),
Malawi (64%) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (63%), roughly two in ten
parents or guardians in Germany (24%), the United States (20%), Australia
(19%), Canada (18%) and South Korea (17%) say their children also don’t
receive the nutrients they need on a daily basis.
“There is enough food in the world for
everyone” Morley adds. Yet much of it is thrown away, while
millions of children continue to endure the pain of hunger and
malnutrition. The findings from this latest research show the alarming
reality facing millions of children around the globe. They have had enough;
we have had enough. It is time now for robust action. We must unite to end
hunger malnutrition for every girl and boys, everywhere. Only then can
children truly reach their God-given potential in life.”
“Too many parents do not get to make
the choices that would keep their children healthy and growing. They must
do whatever they can - including selling things the family needs to produce
food and marrying off their daughters. Around the world, from Bangladesh to
America, some have a surplus of food while many others have too little.”
Global citizens underestimate the
impact of hunger and malnutrition
A staggering 45%[1] of global
deaths among children under age five are caused by poor nutrition but
when asked to guess what proportion of global deaths among children under
age five are caused by poor nutrition, nearly half (44%) of those who
ventured a guess grossly underestimated the
prevalence, estimating this to be below 30%. Moreover, nearly half
(46%) of poll respondents could not venture a guess, demonstrating
that the extent of the problem is a blind spot for most citizens
around the world.
Globally, inflation and increased cost
of living named main cause of hunger at country level, government
intervention seen as solution
Inflation and the increased cost
of living (55%) and not enough government focus (37%) are
seen as the main causes of hunger at the country level. These are
problems which governments could choose to address through interventions,
and the public supports policies to address these challenges.
For example, it is unanimously
believed (97%) that it is important for children to have something to eat
during the school day, and therefore 85% support governments funding school
meals. Yet, only 40% of parents/guardians say that the children in their household
have been provided a school meal in the past 30 days. The importance of
this is undeniable: those whose children have received a school meal are
more likely to say their children receive the proper nutrients they need on
a daily basis.
Only 33% believe un sustainable
development goal of eliminating global hunger by 2030 will be achieved,
despite having enough food to do so
Global citizens are not seeing enough
progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals[2], and most
(74%) say that too many children in their country are going hungry.
Moreover, only 37% believe that child hunger will be eliminated by 2030 in
their own country, and even fewer (33%) believe that it will be eliminated
globally by 2030. Australians (17%), Canadians (17%), Germans (16%) and the
Japanese (9%) are particularly pessimistic.
“In 2015, global government leaders
joined together to establish nutrition targets but failed to invest in
them. Today, hundreds of millions of children suffer from curable diseases,
are underweight, stunted, wasted, anemic and overweight. As world crises
push up hunger, the number of children facing malnutrition is also
skyrocketing.”, continues Morley.
Three quarters (75%) believe
that their government isn’t doing enough to support families
struggling in their own country, and seven in ten believe their
government isn’t doing enough to end child malnutrition (71%) or
to solve the global hunger crisis (69%).
And yet, global citizens believe
we have the recipe to end child hunger, with most (84%) maintaining
that we have enough food in the world for everyone if we share and that
having enough food to eat is a basic human right (91%).
Citizens call on governments to step
up, but many playing their own part too
Global citizens say that government
(68%) has the greatest responsibility for solving child hunger. But
the responsibility is also shared by parents/guardians (48%) and
organizations/agencies (34%). Thankfully, those with the
responsibility also have the trust, with government (40%),
parents/guardians (37%) and organizations (including NGOs and charities)
(29%) cited as the entities they most trust to solve child hunger.
Individuals are also doing their own
part: in the past 12 months many have given food to someone in need
(43%), supported a hungry family locally (26%), or donated to a charity or
faith-based community organization which provides food for the hungry
(21%), among other actions.
Ultimately, most (89%) global
citizens firmly believe that we all have a responsibility to end world
hunger. We’ve had enough, and if governments, citizens, businesses,
and NGOs work together, we can work more quickly towards ending hunger and malnutrition
among children. We have enough.
About World Vision’s Enough Campaign
World
Vision is working in 100 countries to
provide millions of hungry people with food or the means to buy food and
other life-saving services in response to disasters, conflict and famines.
Local faith communities partner with us to identify vulnerable families,
share meals and advocate for more just, nutritious and sustainable food
systems. Our Global Hunger Response is the largest emergency hunger
response we have ever undertaken, spending more than $1 billion dollars to
help 22 million people in 28 countries. It is the biggest any NGO has ever
attempted. But it’s not ENOUGH.
That’s why this World Food Day World
Vision is launching a new campaign to make
children visible in global and national statistics around hunger and
nutrition, drive real change in the places where children are receiving
food support—emergency food assistance programmes, school meals and
community health services—and lead global efforts to get more and better
aid invested in ending child hunger and malnutrition.
(Ipsos Global)
10 October 2023
Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en/21-percent-parents-globally-say-their-children-have-gone-bed-hungry-last-month
(Top)
|
