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Women Are 'Chief Economists' Who Can Help End Hunger: UN

"If you empower the woman, you feed the family."
By 

Business Reporter, HuffPost

The United Nations has committed to ending world hunger by 2030 and it’s women who may be the key to reaching that goal.

Worldwide, about 795 million people are struggling with hunger, according to the World Food Program. Experts say that women, due to their roles in the family, innate nature and skill sets, are uniquely poised to address the issue.

To demonstrate just how critical women are in fending off hunger, WFP released a photo series titled, “Family Meal,” which documents struggling families around the world eating together. In each case, without exception, the woman served as the “chief economist” of the household.

“Such consistency is the basis of WFP’s belief that if you empower the woman, you feed the family,” the organization noted.

Ecuador
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
About half of all farmers are women who produce more than half the world’s food, according to World Watch. Yet, they’re often deprived of such basic rights as land ownership, which keeps them from producing to their full potential. If this gender gap were closed, anywhere from 100 to 150 million fewer people would go hungry, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. concluded in a report released in 2011.This photo shows a woman and boy farming in Ecuador.
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
In Ecuador, 26 percent of all children under 5 have stunted growth, according to the World Food Program. Education is key to curtailing this trend. A study found that women's education contributed to 43 percent of the reduction in child malnutrition over time.
Myanmar
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
While Myanmar reached its Millennium Development Goal of halving hunger by 2015, more than a quarter of the country lives in poverty and its prone to natural disasters that affect food security, according to WFP.
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
Last year, for example, floods and landslides affected 1.7 million people, destroyed more than 1.2 million acres of rice fields and killed more than 250,000 livestock. During times of crisis, women are known to give up their food first in order to protect their families from hunger, according to WFP.
Chad
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world, where one in six children die before their 5th birthday -- mainly from preventable diseases and malnutrition, according to UNICEF.
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
To effectively arm moms with the tools and nutritional information to reduce child hunger, UNICEF has partnered with local groups and the Chad government. They’re teaching mothers how to cook healthful meals using cheap, local ingredients. They’re also encouraging women to breastfeed for the first six months of a baby’s life. Just 3 percent of women there breastfeed, according to UNICEF.
Niger
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
In Niger, about 59.5 percent of the population is living below the poverty line and 44 percent of children suffer from chronic malnutrition, according to the World Food Program.
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
Women in Niger are particularly “hardworking,” Denise Brown, WFP’s country director in Niger, said in an interview with the organization. They’re responsible for taking care of the fields, milling and household duties. "Without them, really, I think families would’ve already left the area," Brown said.
Jordan
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
Syrian refugees now make up nearly 10 percent of Jordan’s population. But the food aid situation had become so dire in Jordan in October that WFP was forced to text message over 200,000 Syrian refugees to alert them that their food vouchers would be cut.
WFP/Chris Terry â supported by the EU
Struggling Syrian refugees have been faced with impossible choices, going so far as to consider forgoing eating in order to afford medicine for their kids and even debating just returning home to the conflict. Research shows that such selfless reactions are common among mothers. When a crisis hits, they are the first to give up their food to help the family out.

Learn more about the World Food Program's "Family Meal" series and how you can support the organization's efforts here.

The Huffington Post

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