Everyone feels hungry on a daily basis. Most people are able to satisfy this craving and need. Even if not immediately, they can count on having a meal or snack within hours. This is not the type of hunger that BhaatBank is concerned with.
People who suffer chronic hunger don’t have the option of eating when they are hungry. They do not get enough calories, essential nutrients, or both. People who are hungry have an ongoing problem with getting food to eat. They have a primary need — how to feed themselves and their children today and tomorrow. They have little energy for anything else.
It is commonly known that the cause of hunger in the world is not a shortage of food but rather access to food.
Some people are hungry because food is in short supply in their area and for a specific reason. It may be because they can’t afford to buy enough food. It may be both.
Addressing hunger is more than just giving people food and ensuring they have the needed calories. Quantity of food is important, but just as important is quality. When people don’t have the right nutritious food, it’s called malnutrition.
Malnutrition is being poorly nourished, whether undernourished or obese. It’s the result of a combination of problems.
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According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) about 795 million people remain undernourished globally. 26.3 million people are undernourished in Bangladesh.
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According to Save the Children six million children in Bangladesh are estimated to be chronically undernourished.
Because food is one of our most basic needs as humans, it can affect nearly everything we do. If malnutrition persists, it has high costs — in individuals, families, communities, and even whole nations. And the costs can be visible and invisible.
Malnutrition is being poorly nourished, whether undernourished or obese. It’s the result of a combination of problems.