Today is World Food Day.

Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development

The world food day honours the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 1945. Each year, the day is dedicated to a specific theme that is related to food. This year the topic is: Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development. The issue of migration has been ever present in the last years as more people than ever are migrating since the Second World War. When talking about migration, we mostly think about war but it is not always the political situation that forces people to leave their homes.
 
Sometimes it is hunger that forces people to flee from their home countries. Poverty and an increase in extreme weather conditions due to climate change are important factors when talking about hunger and reasons for migration.



Malnutrition in the Philippines

On economic-political grounds, the Philippines turned from a rice exporting country to an importing country which resulted in dramatic consequences. Farmers have lost their lands and the society has become dependent on imports and are at the mercy of the world market prices. The country was hit hard by rising food prices in 2008. Malnutrition and hunger are the long-term consequences.
 
110 of the 450 kids at the San Roque Elementary School, which is supported by the Child and Family Foundation, suffered from malnutrition when they started at the school.



Empowerment - A way to fight malnutrition

The Greenfinity Foundation wants to help eliminate the causes of malnutrition and therefore implemented a nutrition and gardening programme. An organic school garden was created on school grounds. One lesson each day is dedicated to gardening. The students and the community members learn how to grow, cultivate and harvest organic fruit and vegetables. The gardening has become part of the everyday school life and the income from the school garden goes towards the Child and Family Health & Nutrition programme.


 

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Sources:
http://de.wfp.org/hunger/hunger-statistik
http://www.welthungerhilfe.de/hunger.html
http://de.wfp.org/hunger/hunger-statistik
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welthunger-Index
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:WHI_2015_-_Hungerwerte_im_Jahr_2015.jpg
http://www.vernetzte-er.de/dev/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39&Itemid=44
http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/2017/theme/en/