Poverty means being overwhelmed by need in all areas of life. Hunger is the discomfort that comes from going without food and can quickly lead to chronic malnutrition.
Families living in poverty are often unable to access nutritious food, leaving them at risk of malnutrition.
Hunger and malnutrition stunt children’s physical growth, shorten life expectancy and increase the likelihood of contracting preventable diseases among other effects.
Poverty and Hunger: Key Definitions
To best understand the links between poverty and hunger, we must first understand the definition of both.
What Is Poverty?
Poverty is often defined solely in monetary terms. For example, living in extreme poverty means that families must survive on less than $3.00 per day. However, poverty goes deeper than not having enough money.
Instead, poverty means to be overwhelmed by need in all areas of life. It’s a lack of the most basic life essentials like shelter, clean water, medical care, education, and yes, food. To live in poverty means to live a life abundant in scarcity.
What Is Hunger?
Hunger is the uncomfortable feeling you get when you haven’t eaten enough food. It’s a familiar feeling we’ve all experienced. Sadly, for many children and families around the world who live in poverty, hunger is a near-constant state.
Severe hunger that doesn’t go away leads to chronic undernourishment, which means a person’s regular food consumption isn’t enough to provide the necessary energy to live a normal, active and healthy life.
How Does Poverty Cause Hunger?
By reading those definitions, we can start to see the link between poverty and hunger. Families living on only a few dollars a day are often unable to access food. And even when food is available and affordable, it’s not always the kind of healthy food required for a balanced diet.
In some cases, impoverished families must make impossible decisions like buying food for their children or purchasing medication or paying rent. It’s not uncommon for families to only eat once a day or once every couple of days. And sadly, this just isn’t enough. Poverty and Hunger Stats
Around 333 million children live in extreme poverty around the world.
Recent data shows that, in 2022, 149 million children under five were estimated to be stunted (too short for their age) and 45 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for their height).
More than three million children die from hunger-related causes each year.
Other Factors That Cause Hunger
In addition to poverty, there are other root causes of hunger threatening the livelihoods of children.
For example, conflict such as war can destroy food sources and stall food production, making finding nutritious food difficult for families in conflict zones. And natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and droughts destroy agricultural production, leaving families without food.
How Does Hunger Affect Children in Poverty?
Hunger is dangerous and threatens the well-being of children around the world. According to recent data, the global hunger crisis has left eight million children at risk of death from severe wasting (life-threatening malnutrition).
Child hunger also hinders a child’s development. Chronic hunger and malnutrition:
Stunts physical growth and halts social and emotional development.
Shortens life expectancy and inflates infant and child mortality rates.
Increases the likelihood of contracting preventable diseases or experiencing chronic health conditions.
Inhibits learning, increases stress and introduces insecurity and instability into children’s lives.
How Compassion Helps Children in Poverty Facing Hunger
Children living in poverty are the most vulnerable to chronic hunger that leads to serious malnutrition. Compassion International is working to fight back against hunger by releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
We partner with local churches in impoverished communities around the world to provide nutritional care to children in poverty. These local churches monitor children in our sponsorship program for malnutrition and provide necessary intervention, such as therapeutic feeding and vitamin supplements.
Children who attend Compassion centers also receive nutritious meals and snacks each day, keeping their bellies happy and full. Local church volunteers also provide training to parents and families, teaching them the importance of healthy meals and how to prepare them.
Fighting the Current Global Food Crisis
The world is currently facing a serious food crisis, with millions facing acute hunger and malnutrition. Compassion is doing our part to fight this crisis through additional short-term and long-term interventions.
Short-term: We deliver food packages and/or cash transfers when necessary to families with low household food security.
Long-term: We provide families with tools like seeds, fertilizer and livestock to help them grow their own food to eat and sell. These tools help families access the food they need now and in the future.
Psalm 146:7 (NIV) says, “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free.” At Compassion, we believe God works through his people to deliver love and care to those who need it the most, including the impoverished and the hungry.
If you believe the same, join us! You can partner with Compassion to fight back against hunger by donating or sponsoring a child in need.
