Description of world hunger and lack of healthy food options available to people across the world. The Global Hunger Problem: Lack of Access to Healthy Food Options

The Global Hunger Problem: Lack of Access to Healthy Food Options

World hunger is an ongoing problem that affects millions of people across the world. According to the United Nations World Food Programme (2020), approximately 821 million people were undernourished in 2018, representing 11 percent of the global population. This is a startling statistic, as world hunger has been on the rise since 2004, when the prevalence of undernourishment was 785 million people. The lack of access to healthy food options is a major contributing factor to world hunger. In many countries, healthy food options are not economically accessible. For example, in India, where a large portion of the population lives in poverty (Khan, et al., 2017), nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables are expensive and often hard to come by. Additionally, many of the most nutritious foods are not widely available in rural areas. This lack of access to healthy food options means that those living in poverty are unable to consume the nutrients they need to lead healthy lives (FAO, 2021). In addition to a lack of access to healthy food, there is also a lack of awareness about nutrition. Many people do not know how to prepare nutritious meals for themselves, or even what a balanced diet looks like (Khan, et al., 2017). This means that even when healthy foods are available, people may not know how to use them to create balanced meals. Cont….