Hunger Matters: Why Do Crises Happen Again and Again?

18 May 2012 - For many of us living in richer countries, repeated hunger around the world has become a normal and inexorable reality. However, it should not be. Through our latest publication, Hunger Matters, we would like to share the experiences of our teams who describe hunger as they see it every day: intolerable and unacceptable. The articles, interviews and testimonies in Hunger Matters demonstrate the extensive experience we have in tackling persistent, debilitating undernutrition alongside our essential work to build the resilience of communities to both small and big shocks. The good news is that undernutrition is not a hopeless condition: many stories exist proving that it can be tackled.

We invite you to learn more about the cycles of deprivation which lead to deadly peaks in child undernutrition, and the innovative solutions that exist to give children the brighter and healthier futures they deserve by exploring the features and stories below.

Just outside the small Guinean village of Mamou, a few hours inland from the western African coast, 25-year-old Aboubacar Bangoura sits and watches the sky. He is perched on a small wooden platform seven feet above his rice fields, slingshot in hand. In four weeks the next harvest begins – now is the time when the birds come to plunder the ripening grain. It has been two months since the rice stocks from last season’s harvest have run out, and Aboubacar knows that losing even part of this year’s crop would be disastrous for his wife and young children....

Sometimes it seems like the same regions around the world are affected by food crises again and again. We know the reasons why and we also know how to stop it. Now you can too...

Ever wondered how our teams diagnose and treat children suffering from malnutrition?

Our latest illustration shows that with your support, communities are able to diagnose children suffering from undernutrition early and treat them using innovative ready-to-use therapeutic foods. Once the child has regained their strength, they can return home. It also illustrates our work aimed at improving the resilience of communities to ensure that children do not fall into the grasp of undernutrition again. Get the full picture...

Last summer our TV screens were filled with pictures of malnourished children in East Africa and the heart-breaking stories of their families struggling to feed themselves. Now history looks set to repeat itself in the Sahel belt of West Africa. Despite early warnings and responses from aid agencies such as Action Against Hunger, millions of families have been plunged into a devastating food crisis. Find out more...