Page 17 - Slide 1

Being Hungry

The United Nations' second Sustainable Development Goal aims to eradicate global hunger

by 2030. However, since 2015, hunger and food insecurity have escalated sharply due to

factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, climate change, and widening inequalities.
Reuters reports that Nigeria is facing a critical hunger crisis, with 30 million people projected

to experience food insecurity next year, while 85 people in Namibia are at risk of dying from

starvation. The economic condition of many African countries has been historically pathetic.
The World Bank’s International Development Association Graduation Programme has helped

some countries but there have been cases of reverse graduation. The continent has suffered

from exploitation. The global media keeps reporting about the top most billionaires and the
ranking of rich people. The global financial institutions are financially quite strong for

making investments in advanced projects and services. We are living in twenty first century

where numerous countries are competing with each other for sending space and planetary
missions. Is it more important to spend money on exploring and settling in space than feeding

the hungry on earth? All the financially strong countries are racing against each other in it.

Hunger is the lowest order needed for organisms. India, famous for its production of

premium rice, grains, tea, and spices due to its 46 unique soil types, has long grappled with
the issue of food wastage. In 2019-20, the nation produced an estimated 292 million tonnes

of food grains, surpassing the annual requirement of 225-230 million tonnes to feed its

population. Yet, feeding the entire population remains a challenge. The United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that over 40% of the food produced in India goes

to waste, resulting in annual losses of up to $14 billion (12.42 billion euros).

It is trembling to empathize with the emotional and physical pain human beings especially a

child suffers from being hungry. Gandhi opines “The world has enough for everyone's need,
but not enough for everyone's greed”. The level of communication and transportation that

exist today in the world, it requires only sincere intention from the affluent countries,

financial institutions and business tycoons to help the hungry population in the world and
eradicate hunger from the earth.

Amit Chaturvedi,
Assistant Professor
Department of Business Administration