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Global Hunger

What report could be more appropriate, in the current economic hubbub worldwide, than the one released yesterday? - on global hunger.

Whilst bankers and governments around the world deal in billions of dollars to rescue companies - and countries [witness Iceland] - from going to the wall, there are still millions of people around the world who go to bed hungry every day.

oneworld.net reports:

"Despite significant progress in global efforts to reduce poverty, hundreds of millions of people across the world are still going to sleep hungry at night, according to a new study by a group of international food policy think tanks.

The "2008 Global Hunger Index" released today points out that more than 920 million people -- an overwhelming majority of them living in developing countries -- go hungry every day.

"Hunger is one of the most important problems the world faces, and rapid progress in overcoming it is long overdue," said the authors of the report highlighting the countries and regions facing the risk -- and now confronting the added burden of rising food prices and a global economic downturn.

The Index also notes, however that many countries in South and Southeast Asia, the Near East and North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean have made significant headway in eliminating hunger over the past two decades.

The report identifies as many as 33 countries that have levels of hunger that are "alarming or extremely alarming." Most of those countries are located in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa."

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