Food Security
Food Security: Feed Hungry Children and Play Your Part From Singapore
Children under five tend to be at the highest risk of malnutrition with 47 million of them suffering from acute malnutrition and 14.3 million from severe malnutrition1. In low- or middle-income countries, about 45% of deaths among children under five are also linked to undernutrition1. According to the World Health Organization, hunger is the gravest threat to the world’s public health. At World Vision, one of our main goals is to feed these children to prevent them from suffering from malnutrition or undernutrition.
Due to social conditions such as poverty and lack of access to safe foods, hungry children across the world are experiencing hunger-related diseases. Tackling food security globally is vital to improve a society’s ability to progress economically - how can you do your part from Singapore? Left unchecked, prolonged hunger leads to malnutrition, which causes 3.1 million child deaths annually.
As a result, contributing to initiatives and programmes that seek to feed hungry children vulnerable to malnutrition is necessary to ensure their well-being. Likewise, any small donation or contribution from you in Singapore goes a long way in the fight to end world hunger.
Malnutrition reduces the body's resilience, and treatable illnesses like diarrhoea and malaria can become life-threatening. In addition, malnutrition causes stunting, reduced brain size, skin conditions, and bone disease. The spill-over effects do not stop there. Because of the impeded brain development, a child's intellect is affected, curtailing their potential in school and limiting their future opportunities in life.
1World Health Organisation, 2020
Key Challenges
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Poor Crop and Livestock Quality Poor farmers are unable to afford better seed varieties such as those that are drought-resistant or able to produce higher yield. They also cannot afford better animal breeds or purchase vaccines and feed that can strengthen their existing livestock. |
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Ineffective Farming Methods Due to a lack of progress, farmers still use traditional farming methods that are unsustainable, such as the slash and burn technique. This decreases soil quality over time. |
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Limited Nutrition Knowledge Mothers and caregivers are not educated on the need for a balanced diet to feed their hungry children, and even if they are aware, they either do not know where to go to get nutritious food or simply cannot afford it. |
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Vulnerability to Shocks and Disasters Natural disasters like drought or flood and climate change that causes erratic weather cause crop failure and livestock death. Communities are not aware of how to prepare for and manage under such circumstances. This often leaves them with little to feed their hungry children. |
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Lack of Alternative Income Streams Most families in rural areas depend heavily on agriculture for income. When that fails to generate enough revenue, they are unable to provide other basic needs and feed their hungry children. |
How We Help Feed Hungry Children Across The World | World Vision Singapore
World Vision’s efforts to support communities in securing stable and nutritious food supplies are cornerstones of our work. In every community we help, we are committed to provide poor and needy children and families with the means to fight hunger and achieve food security.
Not only do we want to help feed hungry children and families, we also want to create a sense of food security and eradicate problems brought on by malnutrition and starvation. In our broader response, we are addressing both short and long-term implications of the global food crisis in many countries around the world by:
- Providing farmers with seeds and tools to grow crops and raise livestock
- Training farmers on techniques like crop rotation and drip irrigation
- Educating families on the importance of nutritious food
- Helping communities protect their food resources with new storage techniques
- Teaching farmers to protect their land, prevent soil degradation, increase sustainability and productivity
- Running community-led feeding programmes with locally available ingredients
Moreover, at the national and international levels, we lobby for changes to policies and systems that disadvantage the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities.
Our Impact
To read the latest report on our food security & economic livelihood projects, click here.
