Solving India’s Hunger Problem

By means of charity fundraising or tax
deductible donations, millions of donors
around the world help top NGOs such as
Akshaya Patra in solving the problem of
hunger. This is not a problem of just a
handful of countries anymore. Everyone
around the world is liable to solve it.
Solving
India’s
Hunger
Problem –
Why and
How?

‘World hunger’ refers to the want or scarcity of food in a country. As the economies progress
and development goes forward, the evil of hunger becomes a bigger challenge with growing
populations. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) estimates that
about 795 million people of the 7.5 billion people in the world were suffering from chronic
undernourishment in 2014-2016. That’s one in nine people. And almost all the hungry people,
i.e., 780 million people live in developing countries including India.
Hunger has taken its largest toll in Southern Asia including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Imagine the statistics on the children demographic. Globally, 161 million under-five-year olds
were estimated to be stunted in 2013. Thus solving the problem of hunger is not a choice
anymore. The reasons are plenty but the most prominent of them all is it’s slowly destroying
our future – the children.
How can the hunger problem be solved? Of course there are top NGOs working towards
reducing under nourishment among children. A lot of charity fundraising happens on a large
scale in India where people generously donate for the cause. However, the real effort is in the
detailing.
School to school
The Akshaya Patra Foundation ©2017

Akshaya Patra, an NGO based out of Bangalore, identified the place where undernourished
children can be found easily. There are several government schools around India that struggle
to get children to school. The most common reason for kids skipping school is economic
condition. While both parents need to work to fend for their families, older children are kept in
charge of younger siblings. When Akshaya Patra decided to incentivise education by providing
mid-day meals in schools, the idea caught up quickly. One of the best ways to solve the problem
is to reach out to undernourished children and ensure both nutrition and education. The
organisation encourages tax deductible donations apart from working in active partnership with
the government.
Meal to meal
Another significant detail in the fight against hunger is ensuring that nutritious meals are served
to children. Akshaya Patra CEO Shridhar Venkat, addressing at the United Nations’ Food and
Agriculture Organisation’s Regional Initiative on Zero Hunger challenge (Bangkok), identified a
crucial aspect of nutrition. He said that millets were not only more nutritious than cereals, they
were naturally rich in fibre, minerals and iron. He outlined the inclusion of this particular cereal
in ancient Indian meals. The meals at Akshaya Patra are replete with nutrients. Our cooks
ensure that the meals are not boring and are varied enough for the children to enjoy while the
meals are customised as per the region such as South India or Western India. This NGO in India
The Akshaya Patra Foundation ©2017

is able to execute this plan through charity fundraising or tax deductible donations from
generous people all over the world.
Awareness
Through Aanganwadi meals given to mothers and toddlers, the organisation also engages in
making women aware of healthy nutrition for children. This sensitises mothers towards
ensuring that they feed their children a healthy meal every day. When they cannot provide for
these meals, Akshaya Patra engages in facilitating the same.
The fight to hunger needs to be carried out with a concrete plan. It’s vital that these plans are
localised based on country and regions in order to be effective. You can play your part by
donating from wherever you are.
Follow us on
The Akshaya Patra Foundation ©2017