Are%20we%20losing%20the%20war%20against%20the%20obscenity%20of%20hunger%3F

As%20Mahatma%20Gandhi%20had%20said%2C%20there%20are%20people%20in%20the%20world%20so%20hungry%2C%20that%20God%20cannot%20appear%20to%20them%20except%20in%20the%20form%20of%20bread.%20Hunger%20is%20one%20of%20mankind%27s%20worst%20enemies%20and%20has%20driven%20millions%20of%20people%20to%20desperation%3B%20it%20has%20also%20provided%20the%20subject-matter%20for%20some%20powerful%20literature%2C%20an%20outstanding%20example%20being%20the%20French%20writer%20Victor%20Hugo%27s%20classic%20%27Les%20Miserables%27.%20%26nbsp%3B

In%20her%20article%20Let%20Them%20Eat%20Bread%3A%20The%20Theft%20That%20Helped%20Inspire%20%27Les%20Miserables%27%20which%20appeared%20in%20the%20%27npr%27%28National%20Public%20Radio%29%20in%20March%202017%2CNina%20Martyris%20wrote%3A

%22On%20a%20bitterly%20cold%20day%20in%20February%201846%2C%20the%20French%20writer%20Victor%20Hugo%20was%20on%20his%20way%20to%20work%20when%20he%20saw%20something%20that%20affected%20him%20profoundly.%20A%20thin%20young%20man%20with%20a%20loaf%20of%20bread%20under%20his%20arm%20was%20being%20led%20away%20by%20police.%20Bystanders%20said%20he%20was%20being%20arrested%20for%20stealing%20the%20loaf.%20He%20was%20dressed%20in%20mud-spattered%20clothes%2C%20his%20bare%20feet%20thrust%20into%20clogs%2C%20his%20ankles%20wrapped%20in%20bloodied%20rags%20in%20lieu%20of%20stockings.

%22It%20made%20me%20think%2C%22%20wrote%20Hugo.%20%22The%20man%20was%20no%20longer%20a%20man%20in%20my%20eyes%20but%20the%20specter%20of%20la%20mis%E8re%2C%20of%20poverty.%22%20In%20his%20novel%2C%20Hugo%20portrays%20the%20family%27s%20circumstances%20in%20these%20few%2C%20short%20lines%3A%20%22A%20very%20hard%20winter%20came.%20Jean%20had%20no%20work.%20The%20family%20had%20no%20bread.%20No%20bread%20literally.%20Seven%20children%21%22%20%26nbsp%3B

Jean%20Valjean%20is%20sentenced%20to%20five%20years%27%20hard%20labor%20for%20stealing%20a%20loaf%20of%20bread%21%20He%20attempted%20to%20escape%20four%20times%2C%20and%20each%20time%20his%20sentence%20was%20lengthened%20by%20three%20years%3B%20he%20also%20received%20an%20extra%20two%20years%20for%20once%20resisting%20recapture%20during%20his%20second%20escape.%20After%20nineteen%20years%20in%20prison%2C%20he%20was%20released%2C%20but%20by%20law%20had%20to%20carry%20a%20yellow%20passport%20that%20announced%20that%20he%20is%20an%20ex-convict%2C%20an%20outcast.%20Hugo%20uses%20that%20loaf%20to%20attack%20society%27s%20criminal%20indifference%20to%20poverty%20and%20hunger%20and%20to%20highlight%20the%20injustice%20of%20the%20penal%20system.

%27Les%20Miserables%27%20should%20have%20awakened%20mankind%27s%20conscience%2C%20but%20one%20must%20ask%20oneself%20if%20it%20has%20succeeded%20in%20doing%20that.%20As%20former%20US%20President%20Dwight%20Eisenhower%20said%2C%20%u201CEvery%20gun%20that%20is%20made%2C%20every%20warship%20launched%2C%20every%20rocket%20fired%2C%20signifies%20in%20the%20final%20sense%20a%20theft%20from%20those%20who%20hunger%20and%20are%20not%20fed%2C%20those%20who%20are%20cold%20and%20not%20clothed%u201D.

As%20the%20humanitarian%20organisation%20Mercy%20Corps%20puts%20it%2C%20%22Hunger%20and%20malnutrition%20are%20the%20biggest%20risks%20to%20health%20worldwide%20-%20greater%20than%20AIDS%2C%20malaria%20and%20tuberculosis%20combined.%20Globally%2C%20food%20deprivation%20still%20claims%20a%20child%u2019s%20life%20every%20three%20seconds%20and%20nearly%20half%20of%20all%20deaths%20in%20children%20under%20five%20are%20attributable%20to%20undernutrition%22.%20Eveyone.org%2C%20another%20charity%20organisation%20says%20%22Every%20hour%20of%20every%20day%2C%20300%20children%20die%20because%20of%20malnutrition.%20It%u2019s%20an%20underlying%20cause%20of%20more%20than%20a%20third%20of%20children%u2019s%20deaths%20%u2013%202.6%20million%20every%20year%22.%20There%20is%20an%20urgent%20need%20to%20take%20action%20on%20war%20footing%20against%20such%20a%20situation.

Thus%2C%20the%20announcement%20by%20the%20Norwegian%20Nobel%20Committee%20on%20October%209%20that%20the%20World%20Food%20Programme%28%20WFP%29%20has%20been%20awarded%20the%20Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20in%202020%20is%20indeed%20most%20welcome.%20The%20award%20has%20been%20given%20for%20its%20efforts%20to%20combat%20hunger%2C%20for%20its%20contribution%20to%20bettering%20conditions%20for%20peace%20in%20conflict-affected%20areas%20and%20for%20acting%20as%20a%20driving%20force%20in%20efforts%20to%20prevent%20the%20use%20of%20hunger%20as%20a%20weapon%20of%20war%20and%20conflict.

The%20World%20Food%20Programme%28WPF%29%20has%20indeed%20been%20doing%20God%27s%20work%20by%20providing%20food%20aid%20through%20the%20UN%20system%20since%201961.%20Its%20website%20mentions%3A%20%22Every%20day%20too%20many%20men%20and%20women%20across%20the%20globe%20struggle%20to%20feed%20their%20children%20a%20nutritious%20meal.%20In%20a%20world%20where%20we%20produce%20enough%20food%20to%20feed%20everyone%2C%20690%20million%20people%20still%20go%20to%20bed%20on%20an%20empty%20stomach%20each%20night.%20Acute%20food%20insecurity%20affected%20135%20million%20people%20in%2055%20countries%20in%202019.%20Even%20more%20%u2013%20one%20in%20three%20%u2013%20suffer%20from%20some%20form%20of%20malnutrition%22.%20%26nbsp%3B

Since%20its%20establishment%2C%20the%20WFP%20has%20responded%20to%20natural%20disasters%20and%20conflicts%20around%20the%20world.%20Currently%2C%20it%20is%20working%20in%20a%20number%20of%20countries%2C%20and%20it%20faces%20its%20severest%20challenges%20in%20three%20conflict-torn%20countries%2C%20namely%20Yemen%2C%20Afghanistan%20and%20South%20Sudan.

Announcing%20the%20Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%2C%20the%20Chairperson%20of%20the%20Committee%2C%20Berit%20Reiss-Andersen%20said%20at%20a%20news%20conference%3A%20%22The%20World%20Food%20Programme%20plays%20a%20key%20role%20in%20multilateral%20co-operation%20in%20making%20food%20security%20an%20instrument%20of%20peace%22.%20She%20also%20said%20that%20with%20this%20year%27s%20award%2C%20the%20committee%20wanted%20to%20%22turn%20the%20eyes%20of%20the%20world%20to%20the%20millions%20of%20people%20who%20suffer%20from%20or%20face%20the%20threat%20of%20hunger%22.%20%26nbsp%3B

In%202015%20the%20global%20community%20adopted%20the%2017%20Global%20Goals%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20to%20improve%20people%u2019s%20lives%20by%202030.%20Goal%20Two%20is%20%27Zero%20Hunger%27%20which%20pledges%20to%20end%20hunger%2C%20achieve%20food%20security%2C%20improve%20nutrition%20and%20promote%20sustainable%20agriculture.%20Achieving%20this%20goal%20is%20the%20priority%20of%20the%20WFP%3B%20if%20present%20trends%20continue%2C%20the%20number%20of%20people%20affected%20by%20hunger%20will%20surpass%20840%20million%20by%202030%2C%20or%209.8%20percent%20of%20the%20global%20population.

It%20may%20be%20mentioned%20that%20India%20has%20enjoyed%20steady%20economic%20growth%20and%20has%20achieved%20self-sufficiency%20in%20grain%20production%20in%20recent%20years.%20Despite%20this%2C%20high%20levels%20of%20poverty%2C%20food%20insecurity%20and%20malnutrition%20persist.%20The%20WFP%27s%20website%20mentions%20that%20it%20has%20been%20working%20in%20India%20since%201963%2C%20with%20work%20transitioning%20from%20food%20distribution%20to%20technical%20assistance%20since%20the%20country%20achieved%20self-sufficiency%20in%20cereal%20production.%20It%20also%20says%20something%20that%20should%20prick%20our%20conscience%3A%20%22India%20is%20home%20to%20a%20quarter%20of%20all%20undernourished%20people%20worldwide%2C%20making%20the%20country%20a%20key%20focus%20for%20tackling%20hunger%20on%20a%20global%20scale.%20In%20the%20last%20two%20decades%2C%20per%20capita%20income%20more%20than%20tripled%2C%20yet%20the%20minimum%20dietary%20intake%20fell.%20The%20gap%20between%20rich%20and%20poor%20increased%20during%20this%20period%20of%20high%20economic%20growth%22.

Coronavirus%20has%20further%20multiplied%20the%20challenges%20which%20India%20faces.%20In%20the%20second%20week%20of%20April%202020%20itself%2C%20the%20International%20Labour%20Organization%20%28ILO%29%20had%20said%20that%20about%20400%20million%20workers%20from%20India%u2019s%20informal%20sector%20are%20likely%20to%20be%20pushed%20deeper%20into%20poverty%20due%20to%20Covid-19.%20There%20is%20no%20doubt%20that%20during%20the%20past%20six%20months%2C%20poverty%20in%20the%20country%20has%20worsened%3B%20so%20too%2C%20has%20hunger.%20The%20Government%20as%20well%20as%20many%20NGO%27s%20are%20grappling%20with%20the%20colossal%20problem%20of%20feeding%20millions%20of%20impoverished%20people%20who%20have%20lost%20even%20their%20means%20of%20earning%20a%20livelihood.%20%26nbsp%3B

We%2C%20as%20individuals%2C%20also%20have%20a%20great%20responsibility.%20In%20such%20trying%20times%2C%20the%20words%20of%20Mother%20Teresa%20should%20guide%20us%3A%20%22%20If%20you%20cannot%20feed%20a%20hundred%20people%2C%20then%20feed%20just%20one.%22%20%26nbsp%3B

%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23NobelPrize%22%20data-user-id%3D%22zUj7Ikrynr1s%22%20href%3D%22/topic/nobel-prize%22%3E%23NobelPrize%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23NobelPeacePrize%22%20data-user-id%3D%22q0uCCycSkyTG%22%20href%3D%22/topic/nobel-peace-prize%22%3E%23NobelPeacePrize%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Poverty%22%20data-user-id%3D%225BbvLURPP1Y9%22%20href%3D%22/topic/poverty%22%3E%23Poverty%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23World%22%20data-user-id%3D%22iEhRQcab92b8%22%20href%3D%22/topic/world%22%3E%23World%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B

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