Nicaragua’s Contemporary Global Issue
Modernly, there are several social and environmental issues facing Nicaraguans. Pollution, civil war, and unjust poverty affect the lives of Nicaraguans everyday. Furthermore, Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. (Malnutrition, 2011) One result of this dismal reality is that many Nicaraguans, particularly children, living in rural areas of the small Latin American country suffer from malnutrition and malnourishment. In fact, nearly 27% of the population physically aches over the lack of food to maintain a healthy diet. (Malnutrition, 2011) The sad truth is that poverty is one of the principal causes of malnutrition not just in Nicaragua, but world wide. So what can we do to help alleviate malnutrition in third world countries? First off, it is essential that we know the facts before we attempt to make any big changes.
Although malnutrition and hunger are similar in meaning and are both imperative topics, they do have their differences. For example, the word ‘hunger’ can be used to stress one of three phrases: “exhausted condition caused by want of food”, “the want or imperceptibility of food in a country”, or “a strong desire”. (Haerens, 2009) The concept of world hunger refers to the want of food in a country. However, malnutrition is a general term that suggests the inadequacy of nutritional elements that are fundamental to human health. (Haerens, 2009) Protein energy malnutrition is another reference to world hunger. (Haerens, 2009) On the contrary, undernourishment is the result of not having enough food to develop normally. (WordNet) A small percentage of Nicaragua’s population is also affected by undernourishment. Another current global issue is pove...
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...ing, and basic determinants of child malnutrition in developing countries. Therefore, the first and foremost action that should be taken in the fight against malnutrition is to eliminate poverty.
References
Gilgoff, J. (2009, November 9). San Francisco Living Abroad. www.examiner.com/article/problems-facing-nicaragua
Haddad, L. & Smith, L.C. (2000). Explaining Child Malnutrition in Developing Countries. Washington D.C. International Food Policy Research Institute.
Haerens, M. (2009). Malnutrition: Opposing Viewpoints. Farmington Hills Michigan. Greenhaven Press. International.
(2011, April 9). Retrieved from Fincael Coqui. fincaelcoqui.com/malnutrition-in-nicaragua/
(2013, November 13). Retrieved from Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFAD Malnutrition.
Retrieved from Word Net Web. http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
World hunger is a very important epidemic because of the risks or implications it imposes on the rest of the world. Juveniles are the utmost apparent victims of under-nutrition. 2.6 million children die as a result of hunger-related causes each year. 66 million school-aged children go to classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone. One in four of the world's youth are kept from growing due to malnutrition. In developing countries the proportion can rise to one in three. A strong maternal-infant bond provided through psychosocial stimulation is essential for positive child development. The formation of this bond at the beginning of life is an essential step that sets the stage for cognitive,emotional, and social development later in life. Feeding and other care practices provide opportunities for psychosocial stimulation and help to establish a positive attachment between caregiver and child.(WHO) Under-nutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, such as measles,diarrhea and malaria. Asia has the largest number of hungry people (over 500 million) however S...
Nutritional anthropology applies the anthropological approach to nutritional disciplines by studying and understanding how the interactions of social and biological factors affect the nutritional status of individuals and populations. Dettwlyer conducted a medical anthropological research assessing the nutritional status of individuals living in a population in Mali, Africa. She defined it as to be a biocultural approach because the research did not only pertain to the biological system of the people but cultural dogmas, infant feeding practices, socio-economic status, political-ecological factors also contributed as much. Death rates and child malnutrition rates are very high in Mali, it being one of the poorest countries of the world. Therefore, Dettwlyer being a nutritional anthropologist extends her study to the children of Mali who are malnutritioned as a result of their birth in poor families; because their mothers have a low status in their prosperous extended family households; ethno-cultural tenets, etc.
Despite Nicaragua being one of the poorest countries in Latin America, Nicaragua has improved its access. Nicaragua has access to potable water And sanitation.
The first and the most serious problem that causes by poverty are hunger, or preciously, malnutrition. We can find these kinds of problems almost all over Africa and some other underdeveloped countries. These were witnessed by thousands of people through TV, radio, newspaper, journals, etc. “In the early 1980s, the mass media dramatically brought us the picture of hunger from Africa – starving children, skin and bone, with their bloated bellies, too weak to even stand up.'; (Warnock p.1) At the same time, people living in more developed countries or wealthy states are enjoying different kinds of delicious meals and dumping whatever they don’t like. Why would this happen? Can we refer this to the government or economical policies that rise the problems? To further explore the problem of hunger in Africa, we can easily relate this to poverty. In fact, there may be some other problems that cause the hunger. For example, local drought in the African Sahel that damages the cropping; which in turn shorten the local food supplies. The other factor is the rapid population growth in Africa. Increasing capita means an increase demand of food. People in Africa are rarely taught the knowledge of birth-control. “If you have money you eat well, no matter how fast the population around you is growing and no matter how short the supplies of energy or land or fertilizer.'; (Kent p.77) According to Kent’s view, we shall see that money can buy off th...
"Hunger and Malnutrition." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Mary L. Gavin. The Nemours Foundation, 01 May 2012. Web. 12 May 2014.
Many people believe that the problems associated with hunger are limited to a small part of society and certain areas of the country, but the reality is much different. In many ways, America is the...
Muhammad Yunus, a civil society leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, once said, “Once poverty is gone, we’ll need to build museums to display its horrors to future generations. They’ll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society — how a few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair.” Hunger can be defined as the physical state of desiring food. Hunger may ultimately lead to malnutrition, where one is unable to eat sufficiently enough to meet basic nutritional needs. According to the World Food Programme (2014), hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to health worldwide — even greater than the combination of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. There are over 842 million undernourished people who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition worldwide, everyday. That means that one in eight people do not receive enough food to be healthy and lead active lives (World Food Programme, 2014). Fortunately, hunger and malnutrition are easily solvable, though everyone must work together to permanently bring an end to it.
Hunger is a result of poverty, as well as poverty being a result of hunger. Hunger causes the body’s radius to decrease in addition to a person’s level of energy and mental functions. An adult’s hunger struggle could seriously affect their labor abilities and could eventually lead to unemployment. Unemployment and low incomes are the all time leading causes of childhood hunger. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life?” (Child Hunger Fact Sheet).
A considerable effort has been done in terms of defining the social issue of Child Hunger or hunger in general for policy purposes. Both private and public sectors, with the cooperation of the government agencies, privately funded advocate groups, and academic institutions have used the method to measure hunger by self-report of his or her own experience of suffering from hunger. (Lewit and Kerrebrock, 1997, Pg 129). According to Lewit and Kerrebrock (1997) poverty is defined as “an inadequate amount of food intake due to a lock of money or resources” (pg.129) or “The mental or physical condition that comes from not eating enough food due to insufficient economic, family, or community resources.” (pg.129). As it stands today, Hunger is now defined with the term “Food insecurity” which means families or individuals are unable to secure or afford nutritious safe food in order to have a healthy active lifestyle.
Chronic food shortages are widespread, and malnutrition levels among young children are high. These statistics are slightly higher in rural as opposed to urban areas.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Imagine living but not eating, needing, but not having. In the United States there are currently forty-six point seven million people in poverty; forty-eight point one million people with food insecure that is including thirty-two point eight million adults and fifteen point three million children. It is painful to know that there are people that do not make it through the night because of not having any food. Those people have to wake up to no food and go to sleep with no food. The definition of ‘hunger’ is the feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat. Action against Hunger says “At least one million malnourished children die every year because they lack access to the necessary treatment. Seventeen
Food insecurity and poor nutrition is an alarmingly large problem for low income families, especially in developing countries. Many strategies exist to fight this problem, although not many of these address all the factors contributing to it along with all the possible solutions to solve it. In many cases, multiple strategies must correlate and work together so that all the determinants of this issue are addressed and can fight food insecurity from different angles. This essay will discuss the significance of the problem, a range of possible strategies to solve the problem, and go into detail on a select few that will correlate and work together to solve different factors of food insecurity and poor nutrition.
“Every hour of every day, 300 children die of malnutrition.” (more children going hunry) Even though there are many, many programs out there, still children are suffering immensely because of mallnutrition.“The report says 15 million more children are suffering from chronic malnutrition in Africa compared to 1990.” (African news service). That 's just in Africa imagine the numbers of children suffering around the world. “Malnutrition is attributed to a third of all child deaths worldwide, or 2.6 million per year.” (African news service). 2.6 million deaths per year and that 's just from mallnutrition.“Half of the world 's malnourished children live in five countries - Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, India and Bangladesh - where 50 per cent of all families have been forced to cut back on food.”(African news service).For you to grasp the whole impact of malnutrition you need the facts.”with over one billion children living in poverty, 400 million lacking clean drinking water, and 165 million under the age of 5 experiencing stunted growth because of malnutrition.” (Justin Turner) Along with malnutrition there is the fact of the effects on the child 's mental status. “Due to lack in resources, poor social and health related behaviors are common.”(children in poverty) these kids that go through this tend to have health concerns
Famine has struck parts of Africa several times during the 20th century, and to this day is still going strong. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the average African consumes 2300 kcal/day, less than the global average of 2700 kcal/day. Recent figures estimate that 316 million Africans, or approximately 35 percent of the continent's total population, is undernourished. Although hunger in Africa is hardly new, it now occurs in a world that has more than enough food to feed all its citizens. Moreover, while Africa's population is growing rapidly, it still has ample fertile land for growing food. Hunger therefore reflects not absolute food scarcity but rather people's lack of access to resources—whether at the individual, house-hold, comunity, or national leve that are needed to produce or purchase adequate food supplies. The reasons people cannot obtain enough food are: several different historical patterns of in equality. These patterns include the in equalities between Africa and its former colonisers or contemporary financiers, and between Africa's rich and poor. It also includes in equality between members of the same households, where food and the resources needed to obtain it (such as land and income) are often unevenly distributed between men and women, old and young. Whatever the reasons for food deprivation, when the result is malnutrition it can do damage, increasing diseases such as malaria, rickets, anemia, and perhaps acquired immune deficiency syndrome aka AIDS Mal-nourished children suffer stunted growth and, often, learning problems. Malnourished adults have less energy to work. Over the long term, inadequate nourishment can cast communities into a cycle o...
Hunger and poverty have been a major problem in the world, which has being leading most people to death than cancer, Ebola, and malaria do. More than thousands of people die from hunger and poverty, and most of the people who suffer most are children below the age of ten. Hunger and poverty have contributed to the world food crisis that has an impact on the economy, the environment, and political issues. People living with hunger and poverty are more than those living a successful life in both developed and developing the world. Hunger makes victims live underweight, causing numerous of sickness to their health. Lack of