2009 30 Hour Famine
1. How many people in the world are chronically hungry?
a. 798 million
b. 862 million
c. 854 million
d. 902 million
(Answer is B, 862 million, up from 854 million in 2007)
2. Hunger manifests itself in many ways besides just starvation. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin/mineral deficiencies. Which of the following conditions are not commonly associated with chronic hunger?
a. Dementia
b. Weakness
c. Stunted growth
d. Greater susceptibility to illness
(Answer is A, dementia. Although hunger can affect brain development in younger children, dementia is not a condition commonly associated with chronic hunger.)
3. Most poor countries have the following ‘safety net’ programs in place to help the poorest of the citizens:
a. Soup kitchens
b. Food stamps
c. Job training programs
d. None of the above
(Answer is D, none of the above. In most developing countries, the governments do not have the resources or infrastructure to assist their own citizens, meaning there is no one to turn to for help. Contrast that to the US, where all of these programs exist to help those who need assistance.)
4. In 2006, how many children died before their fifth birthday as a result of hunger and hunger-related causes?
a. 7.8 million
b. 8.4 million
c. 9.7 million
d. 10.1 million
(Answer is C, 9.7 million, compared to 10.1 million in 2005. Almost all of these deaths occur in developing countries, with ¾ of them coming in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.)
5. True or false: the world’s food problems are solely caused by nature.
a. True
b. False
(Answer is false. Nature is not to blame. Human-made forces are making people increasingly vulnerable to forces of nature. Food is available for those who can afford it-starvation during hard times hits only the poorest. Natural events rarely explain deaths; they are simply the final push over the brink.)
6. True or false: there is enough food to feed everyone in the world.
a. True
b. False
(Answer is true. Enough wheat, rice and other grains are produced to provide every human being with 3,500 calories a day. That doesn’t count other foods including vegetables, beans, nuts, root crops, fruits, grass-fed meats, and fish. Enough food is available to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person a day worldwide.)
7. Under-nutrition in children under the age of 18 affects an estimated:
a. 300-350 million children
b. 350-400 million children
c. 400-450 million children
d. 450-500 million children
(Answer is B, 350-400 million children.)
8. True or false: One out of four children – roughly 146 million – in developing countries are underweight.
a. True
b. False
(The answer is true.)
9. More than 70% of the world’s 146 million underweight children under age 5 live in:
a. 10 countries
b. 20 countries
c. 50 countries
d. 100 countries
(Answer is A, 10 countries. 70% of the world’s 146 million underweight children under age 5 live in just 10 countries with more than 50% of them in South Asia.)
10. True or false: the number of chronically hungry people is growing at a rate of 4 million per year at current trends.
a. True
b. False
(The answer is true.)
Questions 1-4 came from Bread for the Hungry (www.bread.org).
Questions 5-6 came form Stop Hunger Now (www.stophungernow.org).
Questions 7-10 came from the World Food Programme (www.wfp.org).
All questions were researched on August 19, 2008 (in preparation for the 2009 30 Hour Famine, launching October 1, 2008), and the information pulled from the above web sites on that date. Any changes made to the information available on those web sites after that date will not be reflected in the answers to these questions.