Martha Kahari was already struggling to make ends meet after Zimbabwe's coronavirus lockdown forced her to stop selling second-hand clothes and tomatoes at the side of the road in the capital Harare.

Then the council came to tear down her stall.&nbsp;

Since April, local authorities in Zimbabwe's major cities have demolished thousands of illegally built structures that vendors like Kahari use to sell their wares, in what authorities have said is an effort to legitimise informal trade in the city.&nbsp;

With her stall destroyed, the 40-year-old disabled mother of two has given up hope of being able to afford rent or pay back the money she borrowed to buy the stock she planned to sell once the lockdown was lifted.

"If I don't settle the loan soon, they will come and take my goods," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/zimbabwe-president-says-currency-under-attack-as-prices-spiral-304926" hreflang="en">Zimbabwe president says currency under attack as prices spiral</a>

"Because I've been deprived of income, I have to live in one room at my in-laws' with my two children and my property. We have no money for food and no one is helping us."

Vendors and informal workers' groups in Zimbabwe say that city officials, with the support of the national government, are exploiting the lockdown to destroy makeshift shops and market stalls while their owners are observing stay-at-home orders.

Oliver Chidawu, minister of state for Harare, and the city's mayor Herbert Gomba said in a joint statement in April that they had "noted with concern the anxiety that has gripped players in the informal sector" since the demolitions began.

The aim of the operation was to remove illegal businesses and ensure that cities are "clean, orderly and well-managed" while also making sure councils don't lose out on potential revenue, they said.

Crackdowns on informal traders, who make up more than three-quarters of the country's population, according to the Informal Economy Traders Association, are a frequent occurrence in Zimbabwe.&nbsp;

The last major wave of demolitions happened early last year, when about 2,500 stalls were torn down in Harare and Chitungwiza, a town about 30km (19 miles) south of the capital.

Samuel Wadzai, executive director of the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET), a union based in Harare, said the current operation has destroyed the livelihoods of more than 3 million vendors.

Having already gone without income since the southern African nation went into lockdown on March 30, many vendors lost essential stock and prized possessions when their stalls were destroyed, Wadzai said.

"Our members lost merchandise and property worth millions of dollars in the nationwide blitz," he said.

Vendors' rights advocates note that with Zimbabwe in the grips of an economic crisis that has seen soaring food prices and food shortages, vendors have spent any savings they had on feeding their families.

Now they will have no place to work from and no way to buy new stock once the lockdown is lifted, Wadzai said.

HAWKING FROM HOME

To survive, some vendors have turned to social media to ask for money and food donations, while others are hawking from their homes.

Bidnock Kunaka, 55, had two stalls - one in Kuwadzana suburb where he lives and another in central Harare - from which he sold various commodities, ranging from fruits and vegetables to hardware.

Because he was home observing lockdown rules, he learned about the demolitions from media reports and fellow vendors.

When he finally had the chance to check on his stall in Kuwadzana, he found only the shell left. Vendors were given no warnings that the demolitions were coming, Kunaka said.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/virus-gods-punishment-of-west-zimbabwe-minister-286515" hreflang="en">Virus 'god's punishment' of west: Zimbabwe minister</a>

"I can't put food on the table now. The cash I had set aside to stock the business, we have exhausted on food and other household needs," said the father of four.

Without that working capital, Kunaka, who became a vendor in 2016 after losing his job as a factory worker, said it will be impossible to restart his business after the lockdown.

Instead, he has turned a portion of the land at his house into a market garden, where he is growing carrots, onions and leaf greens.

"I'm hoping from the garden I will manage to generate income to feed the family and to start vending again," he said.

DESIGNATED SPACES

Wadzai at VISET said the criminalisation of vendors and the demolition of their stalls goes against the state's responsibility to promote small businesses.

City officials have promised to accommodate vendors in approved spaces that will be designated for use by market vendors once the lockdown is lifted.

"The city of Harare and other local authorities are already in the process of identifying and preparing alternate workplaces for informal traders," Chidawu and Gomba said in their joint statement.&nbsp;

But Wadzai said the committees deciding how to allocate and use those spaces had not reached out to any vendors or informal workers' unions for their input.

"It is not fair for the authorities to take advantage of COVID-19 lockdown to attack the livelihoods of people and without any consultation," he said over the phone.

&nbsp;

'VENDORS ARE DYING'

While the Zimbabwean government has begun easing some lockdown measures to allow commerce and industry to slowly restart, the informal sector is still prohibited from operating.

Simon Masanga, the permanent secretary for social welfare, said in May the government began distributing 180 Zimbabwean dollars ($7.20) per month to more than 2,000 people who had been affected by the lockdown and the clampdown on vendors.&nbsp;

The goal is to scale up to 1 million beneficiaries, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that registering vendors for financial aid was a slow process due to lockdown measures.

Vendors' rights groups like the Informal Economy Traders Association have described the payments as "paltry", saying they barely cover a family's most basic needs.

A family of five in Zimbabwe needs about 7,500 Zimbabwean dollars (about $300) per month to cover their basic needs, according to figures reported by Zimstat, the national statistics agency, in April.&nbsp;

"We are not saying this money is enough to meet basic requirements, but it will go a long way in assisting someone who does not have any money in their pocket," Masanga said in response to the criticisms.

If the government wants to help vendors recover from both the impacts of the pandemic and the loss of their stalls, it should ease the informal trading sector out of lockdown and put a rush on aid payments, Wadzai said.

"The government needs to speedily disburse funds to cushion those vulnerable," he said.

"It's taking too long. Vendors are literally dying of hunger."

Martha Kahari was already struggling to make ends meet after Zimbabwe's coronavirus lockdown forced her to stop selling second-hand clothes and tomatoes at the side of the road in the capital Harare.

Martha Kahari was already struggling to make ends meet after Zimbabwe's coronavirus lockdown forced her to stop selling second-hand clothes and tomatoes at the side of the road in the capital Harare. Then the council came to tear down her stall. Since April, local authorities in Zimbabwe's major cities have demolished thousands of illegally built structures that vendors like Kahari use to sell their wares, in what authorities have said is an effort to legitimise informal trade in the city. With her stall destroyed, the 40-year-old disabled mother of two has given up hope of being able to afford rent or pay back the money she borrowed to buy the stock she planned to sell once the lockdown was lifted. "If I don't settle the loan soon, they will come and take my goods," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Also read: Zimbabwe president says currency under attack as prices spiral "Because I've been deprived of income, I have to live in one room at my in-laws' with my two children and my property. We have no money for food and no one is helping us." Vendors and informal workers' groups in Zimbabwe say that city officials, with the support of the national government, are exploiting the lockdown to destroy makeshift shops and market stalls while their owners are observing stay-at-home orders. Oliver Chidawu, minister of state for Harare, and the city's mayor Herbert Gomba said in a joint statement in April that they had "noted with concern the anxiety that has gripped players in the informal sector" since the demolitions began. The aim of the operation was to remove illegal businesses and ensure that cities are "clean, orderly and well-managed" while also making sure councils don't lose out on potential revenue, they said. Crackdowns on informal traders, who make up more than three-quarters of the country's population, according to the Informal Economy Traders Association, are a frequent occurrence in Zimbabwe. The last major wave of demolitions happened early last year, when about 2,500 stalls were torn down in Harare and Chitungwiza, a town about 30km (19 miles) south of the capital. Samuel Wadzai, executive director of the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET), a union based in Harare, said the current operation has destroyed the livelihoods of more than 3 million vendors. Having already gone without income since the southern African nation went into lockdown on March 30, many vendors lost essential stock and prized possessions when their stalls were destroyed, Wadzai said. "Our members lost merchandise and property worth millions of dollars in the nationwide blitz," he said. Vendors' rights advocates note that with Zimbabwe in the grips of an economic crisis that has seen soaring food prices and food shortages, vendors have spent any savings they had on feeding their families. Now they will have no place to work from and no way to buy new stock once the lockdown is lifted, Wadzai said. HAWKING FROM HOME To survive, some vendors have turned to social media to ask for money and food donations, while others are hawking from their homes. Bidnock Kunaka, 55, had two stalls - one in Kuwadzana suburb where he lives and another in central Harare - from which he sold various commodities, ranging from fruits and vegetables to hardware. Because he was home observing lockdown rules, he learned about the demolitions from media reports and fellow vendors. When he finally had the chance to check on his stall in Kuwadzana, he found only the shell left. Vendors were given no warnings that the demolitions were coming, Kunaka said. Also read: Virus 'god's punishment' of west: Zimbabwe minister "I can't put food on the table now. The cash I had set aside to stock the business, we have exhausted on food and other household needs," said the father of four. Without that working capital, Kunaka, who became a vendor in 2016 after losing his job as a factory worker, said it will be impossible to restart his business after the lockdown. Instead, he has turned a portion of the land at his house into a market garden, where he is growing carrots, onions and leaf greens. "I'm hoping from the garden I will manage to generate income to feed the family and to start vending again," he said. DESIGNATED SPACES Wadzai at VISET said the criminalisation of vendors and the demolition of their stalls goes against the state's responsibility to promote small businesses. City officials have promised to accommodate vendors in approved spaces that will be designated for use by market vendors once the lockdown is lifted. "The city of Harare and other local authorities are already in the process of identifying and preparing alternate workplaces for informal traders," Chidawu and Gomba said in their joint statement. But Wadzai said the committees deciding how to allocate and use those spaces had not reached out to any vendors or informal workers' unions for their input. "It is not fair for the authorities to take advantage of COVID-19 lockdown to attack the livelihoods of people and without any consultation," he said over the phone. 'VENDORS ARE DYING' While the Zimbabwean government has begun easing some lockdown measures to allow commerce and industry to slowly restart, the informal sector is still prohibited from operating. Simon Masanga, the permanent secretary for social welfare, said in May the government began distributing 180 Zimbabwean dollars ($7.20) per month to more than 2,000 people who had been affected by the lockdown and the clampdown on vendors. The goal is to scale up to 1 million beneficiaries, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that registering vendors for financial aid was a slow process due to lockdown measures. Vendors' rights groups like the Informal Economy Traders Association have described the payments as "paltry", saying they barely cover a family's most basic needs. A family of five in Zimbabwe needs about 7,500 Zimbabwean dollars (about $300) per month to cover their basic needs, according to figures reported by Zimstat, the national statistics agency, in April. "We are not saying this money is enough to meet basic requirements, but it will go a long way in assisting someone who does not have any money in their pocket," Masanga said in response to the criticisms. If the government wants to help vendors recover from both the impacts of the pandemic and the loss of their stalls, it should ease the informal trading sector out of lockdown and put a rush on aid payments, Wadzai said. "The government needs to speedily disburse funds to cushion those vulnerable," he said. "It's taking too long. Vendors are literally dying of hunger."

'Dying of hunger': Zimbabwe street vendors hit by coronavirus clampdown

A plea for survival from the indigenous Peruvians living on the floating islands of Uros in Puno, calling for help from President Martin Vizcarra as local communities struggle under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic.

'There's no more food'. Indigenous Peruvians in plea for survival amid pandemic

Pakistan PM Imran Khan shows his fear on the outbreak of Coronavirus. Imran khan says, Pakistan is not ready to handle the situation as country have poor health system.

WION Dispatch: Pak PM fears on Covid's outbreak

Economic inequality has gone haywire, and as of 2019 more than 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/oxfam-releases-report-ahead-of-world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-explains-the-benefits-of-taxing-indias-top-1-275407">Wealth inequality in India — A maid would need to work for 22,277 years to earn as much as a top CEO</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/unpaid-work-done-by-women-globally-worth-43-times-apples-annual-turnover-oxfam-191775">Unpaid work done by women globally worth 43-times Apple's annual turnover: Oxfam</a>

In Oxfam's 'Time to Care' report published ahead of the WEF Annual Meeting - also called the "Davos 2020", UK-based charity accused governments the world over of massively under-taxing rich corporations and individuals. All this while public services remain severely underfunded in many developing countries.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/world-economic-forums-global-gender-gap-index-india-slips-to-112th-rank-268698">World Economic Forum’s Global Gender gap index: India slips to 112th rank</a>

The report highlighted gender-based economic disparities as well, stating that women and girls bore the brunt of a disproportionate responsibility for care work with sporadic economic opportunities.

Citing the data collected by Bloomberg, the world's richest people have amassed a total of USD 231 billion over the past decade. Founder of Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, fifth richest person in the world has the highest boost last year with a nett gain of around USD 6 billion.

Oxfam report claimed that an individual saving USD 10,000 per day since the construction of the Pyramids of Giza would still have only a fifth of the average fortune of the world's top five. Understanding the severity of the wealth disparity was made easier by another statement by Oxfam, that the combined wealth of the world's 22 richest men is at par, perhaps even more than the wealth of all the women in Africa.

Economic inequality has gone haywire, and as of 2019 more than 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people. Also read: Wealth inequality in India — A maid would need to work for 22,277 years to earn as much as a top CEO Also read: Unpaid work done by women globally worth 43-times Apple's annual turnover: Oxfam In Oxfam's 'Time to Care' report published ahead of the WEF Annual Meeting - also called the "Davos 2020", UK-based charity accused governments the world over of massively under-taxing rich corporations and individuals.

Economic inequality has gone haywire, and as of 2019 more than 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people. Also read: Wealth inequality in India — A maid would need to work for 22,277 years to earn as much as a top CEO Also read: Unpaid work done by women globally worth 43-times Apple's annual turnover: Oxfam In Oxfam's 'Time to Care' report published ahead of the WEF Annual Meeting - also called the "Davos 2020", UK-based charity accused governments the world over of massively under-taxing rich corporations and individuals. All this while public services remain severely underfunded in many developing countries. Also read: World Economic Forum’s Global Gender gap index: India slips to 112th rank The report highlighted gender-based economic disparities as well, stating that women and girls bore the brunt of a disproportionate responsibility for care work with sporadic economic opportunities. Citing the data collected by Bloomberg, the world's richest people have amassed a total of USD 231 billion over the past decade. Founder of Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, fifth richest person in the world has the highest boost last year with a nett gain of around USD 6 billion. Oxfam report claimed that an individual saving USD 10,000 per day since the construction of the Pyramids of Giza would still have only a fifth of the average fortune of the world's top five. Understanding the severity of the wealth disparity was made easier by another statement by Oxfam, that the combined wealth of the world's 22 richest men is at par, perhaps even more than the wealth of all the women in Africa.

2,153 billionaires have more money than 4.6 billion people combined: Oxfam

Despite producing more food than it can consume, humanity risks a menacing mix of "food crises" brought on by social inequalities, environmental degradation, climate change and wars, a UN report warned Friday.

After decades of steady decline, the number of people who suffer from hunger worldwide has been slowly increasing since 2015, said the report by the UN's Food and Agriculture (FAO) Organization, the European Commission and France's CIRAD agricultural research centre.

Last year, more than 820 million people went hungry.

A key obstacle is an unequal access: while some people throw away food they buy too much of, others cannot afford or find the nutrition they need, said the report entitled "Food Systems at Risk."

"The available food on the planet amounts to just under 3,000 kilocalories per person per day, while the nutritional needs of the population is estimated at about 2,200 kilocalories," said Sandrine Dury, an economist involved in the research.

There was also the question of quality, with too many people relying on calories from fat and sugar which are poor in vitamins and minerals.

People increasingly "suffer from obesity and dietary deficiencies at the same time", Dury said.

The report, presented to the FAO in Rome, warned that the problem of poor nutrition "will only get worse if current trends are not reversed."

The risks are many and multiplying.

The global population will expand from 7.7 billion in 2019 to 8.5 billion in 2030, mostly in already hungry Africa and Asia, piling pressure on limited available resources.

Urban populations will grow by 50 per cent by 2030, while rural ones by more than 20 per cent in some countries.

'Unsteady' food systems

Migration fuelled by conflicts and natural disasters, in turn worsened by global warming, will further exacerbate the situation, the report said.

"In general, food systems which are unsteady due to low food production capacities, low resilience, high pressure on resources and political insecurity generate more migrations and displacements," it said.

As more and more people are lifted out of poverty, there has been a higher demand for animal food products, the report noted.

This, in turn, has contributed to deforestation to make way for farms growing animals and their feed.&nbsp;

In a vicious cycle, shrinking forests mean fewer trees to absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide, accelerating climate change.

"The projected growing impact of global warming will certainly increase disaster-related displacements and potentially fuel social unrest and conflicts as populations migrate in the search for new land, water and food," the report said.

Despite producing more food than it can consume, humanity risks a menacing mix of "food crises" brought on by social inequalities, environmental degradation, climate change and wars, a UN report warned Friday.

Despite producing more food than it can consume, humanity risks a menacing mix of "food crises" brought on by social inequalities, environmental degradation, climate change and wars, a UN report warned Friday. After decades of steady decline, the number of people who suffer from hunger worldwide has been slowly increasing since 2015, said the report by the UN's Food and Agriculture (FAO) Organization, the European Commission and France's CIRAD agricultural research centre. Last year, more than 820 million people went hungry. A key obstacle is an unequal access: while some people throw away food they buy too much of, others cannot afford or find the nutrition they need, said the report entitled "Food Systems at Risk." "The available food on the planet amounts to just under 3,000 kilocalories per person per day, while the nutritional needs of the population is estimated at about 2,200 kilocalories," said Sandrine Dury, an economist involved in the research. There was also the question of quality, with too many people relying on calories from fat and sugar which are poor in vitamins and minerals. People increasingly "suffer from obesity and dietary deficiencies at the same time", Dury said. The report, presented to the FAO in Rome, warned that the problem of poor nutrition "will only get worse if current trends are not reversed." The risks are many and multiplying. The global population will expand from 7.7 billion in 2019 to 8.5 billion in 2030, mostly in already hungry Africa and Asia, piling pressure on limited available resources. Urban populations will grow by 50 per cent by 2030, while rural ones by more than 20 per cent in some countries. 'Unsteady' food systems Migration fuelled by conflicts and natural disasters, in turn worsened by global warming, will further exacerbate the situation, the report said. "In general, food systems which are unsteady due to low food production capacities, low resilience, high pressure on resources and political insecurity generate more migrations and displacements," it said. As more and more people are lifted out of poverty, there has been a higher demand for animal food products, the report noted. This, in turn, has contributed to deforestation to make way for farms growing animals and their feed. In a vicious cycle, shrinking forests mean fewer trees to absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide, accelerating climate change. "The projected growing impact of global warming will certainly increase disaster-related displacements and potentially fuel social unrest and conflicts as populations migrate in the search for new land, water and food," the report said.

Despite having enough food, humanity risks hunger 'crises': Report

More than 821 million people suffered from hunger, food insecurity and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-lifted-271-million-people-out-of-poverty-between-2006-and-2016-says-united-nations-report-235245">malnutrition worldwide last year</a>, the United Nations reported on Monday - the third year in a row that the number has risen.

After decades of decline, food insecurity began to increase in 2015 and reversing the trend is one of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-nations-chiefs-call-to-save-the-pacific-to-save-the-world-219655">2030 targets of the UN's</a> Sustainable Development Goals.

But getting to a world where no one is suffering from hunger by then remains an "immense challenge," the report said. &nbsp;&nbsp;

"The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" was produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other UN agencies including the World Health Organization. &nbsp;

"To safeguard food security and nutrition, it is critical to already have in place economic and social policies to counteract the effects of adverse economic cycles when they arrive, while avoiding cuts in essential services, such as health care and education, at all costs," it said.

The authors said a "structural transformation" was needed to include the poorest people in the world, a move they said would require "integrating food security and nutrition concerns into poverty reduction efforts" while tackling gender inequality and the exclusion of certain social groups.&nbsp;

Malnutrition remains widespread in Africa, where around 20 per cent of the population is affected, and in Asia where more than 12 of people experience it. In Latin America and the Caribbean, seven percent of people are affected.

Adding the number of people suffering from famine to those hit by food insecurity gives a total of more than two billion.&nbsp;

The FAO said current efforts were insufficient to meet the goal of halving the number of children whose growth is stunted by malnutrition by 2030.

Around 149 million children currently suffer from hunger-related growth delays.&nbsp;

At the same time, the report notes that obesity and excess weight are both on the rise in all regions, with school-age children and adults particularly affected.

More than 821 million people suffered from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide last year, the United Nations reported on Monday - the third year in a row that the number has risen.

More than 821 million people suffered from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide last year, the United Nations reported on Monday - the third year in a row that the number has risen. After decades of decline, food insecurity began to increase in 2015 and reversing the trend is one of the 2030 targets of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. But getting to a world where no one is suffering from hunger by then remains an "immense challenge," the report said. "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" was produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other UN agencies including the World Health Organization. "To safeguard food security and nutrition, it is critical to already have in place economic and social policies to counteract the effects of adverse economic cycles when they arrive, while avoiding cuts in essential services, such as health care and education, at all costs," it said. The authors said a "structural transformation" was needed to include the poorest people in the world, a move they said would require "integrating food security and nutrition concerns into poverty reduction efforts" while tackling gender inequality and the exclusion of certain social groups. Malnutrition remains widespread in Africa, where around 20 per cent of the population is affected, and in Asia where more than 12 of people experience it. In Latin America and the Caribbean, seven percent of people are affected. Adding the number of people suffering from famine to those hit by food insecurity gives a total of more than two billion. The FAO said current efforts were insufficient to meet the goal of halving the number of children whose growth is stunted by malnutrition by 2030. Around 149 million children currently suffer from hunger-related growth delays. At the same time, the report notes that obesity and excess weight are both on the rise in all regions, with school-age children and adults particularly affected.

Hunger on the rise worldwide as 821 million affected: UN

Candidates from China, France and Georgia are vying to head the UN's food agency, as the fight to eradicate world hunger takes a blow from global warming and wars.

The election of the new chief of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will be held Sunday at the headquarters in Rome during the agency's 41st conference, which brings together 194 member countries.

Global hunger has risen for the past three years due to the combined effects of extreme and erratic weather, economic slowdowns, and conflicts, particularly in Africa and the Middle East.

FAO has sounded the alarm over rising food insecurity and high levels of malnutrition, and the new head will have to ramp up support for small-holder farms and fisheries to combat the ills of intensive farming, food waste and poverty.

Whoever takes over the four-year posting from Brazil's Jose Graziano da Silva will have to put policies in place now in preparation for feeding a world population expected to increase from 7.7 billion people to 9.7 billion in 2050.

The UN agency tackles issues that are "important for both advanced and developing countries," Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told AFP.&nbsp;

They include "food security, (and) agricultural development, but also agro-business, trade, biotechnology and, increasingly, climate and environment", he said.

Epidemic, trade war

The candidates -- who for the first time include a woman -- each boast extensive experience in the sector.

China has nominated its agricultural deputy minister, 55-year-old Qu Dongyu, who many analysts see as the frontrunner.

"Beijing has made a big push to get more senior jobs at the UN in the last few years," Richard Gowan, an analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, told AFP.

The country is currently grappling with a swine fever epidemic that is decimating its livestock, as well as a trade war with the United States that is forcing it to go elsewhere for cereals and soya.

The crises have pushed the food sector to the top of the government's priorities, Beijing said in its bid letter, seen by AFP.&nbsp;

Qu, a biologist by training, has 30 years experience, from developing digital technologies in agriculture to introducing micro-credit in rural areas.

'Know hunger personally'

Georgia's candidate, Davit Kirvalidze, is a former minister of agriculture who believes the private sector has a key role to play in eliminating global hunger, he said in a telephone interview.

It is vital that small family farmers have market access, with FAO acting as a "broker" of change to launch "public-private" partnerships to that end, he said.

"I know hunger personally, and it drew me to farm. Eventually I was able to feed my family, my community, and this is what led me here today," he added.

In an apparent nod to criticisms of the UN agency over management practices in recent years, Kirvalidze said his tenure would be "one marked by unprecedented transparency".

French candidate Catherine Geslain-Laneelle, former head of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), has spent her entire career in the agricultural and agri-food sectors at the highest level in France.

She says FAO should help "develop value chains around agriculture, fisheries and forestry", a reference to the storage, processing and distribution of food.

As well as tackling the red-button issue of food waste, such chains would also help combat poverty by creating jobs for young people, in particular in rural areas and developing countries, she added.

Candidates from China, France and Georgia are vying to head the UN's food agency, as the fight to eradicate world hunger takes a blow from global warming and wars.

Candidates from China, France and Georgia are vying to head the UN's food agency, as the fight to eradicate world hunger takes a blow from global warming and wars. The election of the new chief of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will be held Sunday at the headquarters in Rome during the agency's 41st conference, which brings together 194 member countries. Global hunger has risen for the past three years due to the combined effects of extreme and erratic weather, economic slowdowns, and conflicts, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. FAO has sounded the alarm over rising food insecurity and high levels of malnutrition, and the new head will have to ramp up support for small-holder farms and fisheries to combat the ills of intensive farming, food waste and poverty. Whoever takes over the four-year posting from Brazil's Jose Graziano da Silva will have to put policies in place now in preparation for feeding a world population expected to increase from 7.7 billion people to 9.7 billion in 2050. The UN agency tackles issues that are "important for both advanced and developing countries," Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told AFP. They include "food security, (and) agricultural development, but also agro-business, trade, biotechnology and, increasingly, climate and environment", he said. Epidemic, trade war The candidates -- who for the first time include a woman -- each boast extensive experience in the sector. China has nominated its agricultural deputy minister, 55-year-old Qu Dongyu, who many analysts see as the frontrunner. "Beijing has made a big push to get more senior jobs at the UN in the last few years," Richard Gowan, an analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, told AFP. The country is currently grappling with a swine fever epidemic that is decimating its livestock, as well as a trade war with the United States that is forcing it to go elsewhere for cereals and soya. The crises have pushed the food sector to the top of the government's priorities, Beijing said in its bid letter, seen by AFP. Qu, a biologist by training, has 30 years experience, from developing digital technologies in agriculture to introducing micro-credit in rural areas. 'Know hunger personally' Georgia's candidate, Davit Kirvalidze, is a former minister of agriculture who believes the private sector has a key role to play in eliminating global hunger, he said in a telephone interview. It is vital that small family farmers have market access, with FAO acting as a "broker" of change to launch "public-private" partnerships to that end, he said. "I know hunger personally, and it drew me to farm. Eventually I was able to feed my family, my community, and this is what led me here today," he added. In an apparent nod to criticisms of the UN agency over management practices in recent years, Kirvalidze said his tenure would be "one marked by unprecedented transparency". French candidate Catherine Geslain-Laneelle, former head of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), has spent her entire career in the agricultural and agri-food sectors at the highest level in France. She says FAO should help "develop value chains around agriculture, fisheries and forestry", a reference to the storage, processing and distribution of food. As well as tackling the red-button issue of food waste, such chains would also help combat poverty by creating jobs for young people, in particular in rural areas and developing countries, she added.

UN food agency to elect chief as climate change ups hunger

South Sudan which is reeling under the horrors of war, ethnic violence, rape, hunger and displacement, for civilians the greatest danger is been cut-off from health services. Watch this report.

In South Sudan, illness is as deadly as war

To defeat the intertwined pandemics of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/high-stress-jobs-make-women-put-on-weight-not-men-study-193109">obesity, hunger and climate change</a>, governments must curb the political influence of major corporations, said a major report Monday calling for a 'global treaty' similar to one for tobacco control.

Bu this will not happen unless ordinary citizens demand a "radical rethink" of the relationship between policymakers and business, nearly four dozen experts from The Lancet Commission on Obesity concluded.

"Powerful opposition from vested interests, lack of political leadership, and insufficient societal demand for change are preventing action," they said in a statement.

Nearly a billion people are hungry and another two billion are eating too much of the wrong foods, causing epidemics of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Unhealthy diets account for up to 11 million premature deaths every year, according to the most recent Global Disease Burden report.

"Malnutrition in all its forms -- including undernutrition and obesity -- is by far the biggest cause of ill-health and premature deathy globally," said Commission co-chair Boyd Swinburn, a professor at the University of Aukland.&nbsp;

"Both undernutrition and obesity are expected to be made significantly worse by climate change."

The way in which food is currently produced, distributed and consumed not only fuels the hunger and obesity pandemics, it also generates 25 to 30 percent of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

Cattle production alone accounts for more than have of those gases, in the form of methane-laden flatulence and CO2 when forests -- especially in Brazil -- are cleared to accommodate livestock.

A transport system dominated by cars contributes another 15 to 25 percent of emissions, and supports a sedentary lifestyle.

Triple pandemic 
"Underpinning all of these are weak political governance, the unchallenging economic pursuit of GPD growth, and the powerful commercial engineering of overconsumption," the report said.

"Undernutrition is declining too slowly to meet global targets, no country has reversed its obesity epidemic, and comprehensive policy responses to the threat of climate change have barely begun."

Despite 30 years of warnings from science about the dire impacts of global warming, CO2 emissions hit record levels in 2017 and again last year.

Because all these problems are interwoven, the answers must be too, the researchers emphasised.

"Joining three pandemics" -- hunger, obesity, climate -- "together as 'The Global Syndemic' allows us to consider common drivers and shared solutions."

Another Lancet Commission report published last week calling for a dramatic shift in global diet to improve health and avoid "catastrophic" damage to the planet.

"Until now, undernutrition and obesity have been seen as polar opposites of either too few or too many calories," said Swinburn.

"In reality, they are both driven by the same unhealthy, inequitable food systems, underpinned by the same political economy."

The report calls for a Framework Convention on Food Systems -- similar to global conventions for tobacco control and climate change -- to restrict the influence of the food industry.

How we eat, live, move 
The experts also argue that economic incentives must be overhauled.&nbsp;

Some five trillion dollars (4.4 trillion euros) in government subsidies for fossil fuels and large-scale agribusiness should be rechanneled toward "sustainable, healthy and environmentally friendly activities," they said.

To sharply reduce red meat consumption, for example, the report favours high taxes, abolishing subsidies, along with transparent health and environment labelling.

In addition, they favour the creation of a one billion dollar philanthropic fund to support grassroots action.

"Tackling 'The Global Syndemic' requires an urgent rethink of how we eat, live, consume and move," said Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet.

The two Lancet reports are not the only urgent appeal from science in recent months. In October, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change likewise called for an economic and social "paradigm shift" to avoid global chaos. &nbsp;

Reaction to the Lancet recommendations has been sharply divided. Health advocates and climate experts hailed its sweeping call for deep change.

"For too long we have been day-dreaming our way to a diseased future," said Katie Dain, CEO of the Noncommunicable Disease Alliance.

"A food system that secures a better diet for this and the immediate next generations will save millions of lives and, at the same time, help save the planet."

Industry representatives and libertarians slammed the findings as overwrought and an assault on free choice.

"This is the final vindication for those of us who have warned about the slippery slope of regulation," said Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs.

"Nanny-state zealots are no longer hiding their intention to use the anti-tobacco blueprint to control other areas of our lives."

To defeat the intertwined pandemics of obesity, hunger and climate change, governments must curb the political influence of major corporations, said a major report Monday calling for a 'global treaty' similar to one for tobacco control.

To defeat the intertwined pandemics of obesity, hunger and climate change, governments must curb the political influence of major corporations, said a major report Monday calling for a 'global treaty' similar to one for tobacco control. Bu this will not happen unless ordinary citizens demand a "radical rethink" of the relationship between policymakers and business, nearly four dozen experts from The Lancet Commission on Obesity concluded. "Powerful opposition from vested interests, lack of political leadership, and insufficient societal demand for change are preventing action," they said in a statement. Nearly a billion people are hungry and another two billion are eating too much of the wrong foods, causing epidemics of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Unhealthy diets account for up to 11 million premature deaths every year, according to the most recent Global Disease Burden report. "Malnutrition in all its forms -- including undernutrition and obesity -- is by far the biggest cause of ill-health and premature deathy globally," said Commission co-chair Boyd Swinburn, a professor at the University of Aukland. "Both undernutrition and obesity are expected to be made significantly worse by climate change." The way in which food is currently produced, distributed and consumed not only fuels the hunger and obesity pandemics, it also generates 25 to 30 percent of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Cattle production alone accounts for more than have of those gases, in the form of methane-laden flatulence and CO2 when forests -- especially in Brazil -- are cleared to accommodate livestock. A transport system dominated by cars contributes another 15 to 25 percent of emissions, and supports a sedentary lifestyle. Triple pandemic "Underpinning all of these are weak political governance, the unchallenging economic pursuit of GPD growth, and the powerful commercial engineering of overconsumption," the report said. "Undernutrition is declining too slowly to meet global targets, no country has reversed its obesity epidemic, and comprehensive policy responses to the threat of climate change have barely begun." Despite 30 years of warnings from science about the dire impacts of global warming, CO2 emissions hit record levels in 2017 and again last year. Because all these problems are interwoven, the answers must be too, the researchers emphasised. "Joining three pandemics" -- hunger, obesity, climate -- "together as 'The Global Syndemic' allows us to consider common drivers and shared solutions." Another Lancet Commission report published last week calling for a dramatic shift in global diet to improve health and avoid "catastrophic" damage to the planet. "Until now, undernutrition and obesity have been seen as polar opposites of either too few or too many calories," said Swinburn. "In reality, they are both driven by the same unhealthy, inequitable food systems, underpinned by the same political economy." The report calls for a Framework Convention on Food Systems -- similar to global conventions for tobacco control and climate change -- to restrict the influence of the food industry. How we eat, live, move The experts also argue that economic incentives must be overhauled. Some five trillion dollars (4.4 trillion euros) in government subsidies for fossil fuels and large-scale agribusiness should be rechanneled toward "sustainable, healthy and environmentally friendly activities," they said. To sharply reduce red meat consumption, for example, the report favours high taxes, abolishing subsidies, along with transparent health and environment labelling. In addition, they favour the creation of a one billion dollar philanthropic fund to support grassroots action. "Tackling 'The Global Syndemic' requires an urgent rethink of how we eat, live, consume and move," said Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet. The two Lancet reports are not the only urgent appeal from science in recent months. In October, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change likewise called for an economic and social "paradigm shift" to avoid global chaos. Reaction to the Lancet recommendations has been sharply divided. Health advocates and climate experts hailed its sweeping call for deep change. "For too long we have been day-dreaming our way to a diseased future," said Katie Dain, CEO of the Noncommunicable Disease Alliance. "A food system that secures a better diet for this and the immediate next generations will save millions of lives and, at the same time, help save the planet." Industry representatives and libertarians slammed the findings as overwrought and an assault on free choice. "This is the final vindication for those of us who have warned about the slippery slope of regulation," said Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs. "Nanny-state zealots are no longer hiding their intention to use the anti-tobacco blueprint to control other areas of our lives."

To defeat obesity, hunger & climate change, governments must curb influence of big corporations: Lancet

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-bangla-plane-crash-that-killed-51-was-caused-by-pilot-smoking-in-cockpit-193269">US-Bangla plane crash that killed 51 was caused by pilot smoking in </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-bangla-plane-crash-that-killed-51-was-caused-by-pilot-smoking-in-cockpit-193269">cockpit</a>

The US-Bangla airline Bombardier UBG-211 crash that occurred in March last year took place as the pilot who was in charge of the flight had smoked inside the cockpit despite restrictions, authorities confirmed on Sunday.

 
<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/live-updates-india-vs-new-zealand-3rd-odi-nz-are-at-10-1-after-2-overs-193266">India vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI: Catch all the live updates here</a>

India's bowlers struck early, sending both Kiwi openers back to the pavilion. New Zealand were 59/3 after 16.2 overs at 9 am IST with skipper Kane Williamson departing after his openers.&nbsp;

 
<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uss-bolton-warns-venezuela-of-significant-response-if-juan-guaido-is-threatened-193282">US's Bolton warns Venezuela of 'significant response' if Juan </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uss-bolton-warns-venezuela-of-significant-response-if-juan-guaido-is-threatened-193282">Guaido</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uss-bolton-warns-venezuela-of-significant-response-if-juan-guaido-is-threatened-193282"> is threatened</a>

National Security Adviser of the United States John Bolton said that any violence and intimidation against US diplomats, Venezuela's "democratic leader" Juan Guaido or the National Assembly will be met with a "significant response" from the US.&nbsp;

 
<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/brazil-dam-burst-death-toll-touches-58-rescuers-find-bus-full-of-bodies-193259">Brazil dam burst: Death toll touches 58, rescuers find bus full of bodies</a>

Fears of a second dam breach at a Brazilian mining complex receded Sunday, enabling a search to resume for the more than 300 people still missing two days after a dam collapse that has killed at least 58 people.&nbsp;

 
<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/to-defeat-obesity-hunger-climate-change-govts-must-curb-influence-of-big-corporations-lancet-193275">To defeat obesity, hunger &amp; climate change, </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/to-defeat-obesity-hunger-climate-change-govts-must-curb-influence-of-big-corporations-lancet-193275">govts</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/to-defeat-obesity-hunger-climate-change-govts-must-curb-influence-of-big-corporations-lancet-193275"> must curb </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/to-defeat-obesity-hunger-climate-change-govts-must-curb-influence-of-big-corporations-lancet-193275">influence</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/to-defeat-obesity-hunger-climate-change-govts-must-curb-influence-of-big-corporations-lancet-193275"> of big corporations: Lancet</a>

To defeat the intertwined pandemics of obesity, hunger and climate change, governments must curb the political influence of major corporations, said a major report Monday calling for a 'global treaty' similar to one for tobacco control.

Bu this will not happen unless ordinary citizens demand a "radical rethink" of the relationship between policymakers and business, nearly four dozen experts from The Lancet Commission on Obesity concluded.

US-Bangla plane crash that killed 51 was caused by pilot smoking in cockpit The US-Bangla airline Bombardier UBG-211 crash that occurred in March last year took place as the pilot who was in charge of the flight had smoked inside the cockpit despite restrictions, authorities confirmed on Sunday.

US-Bangla plane crash that killed 51 was caused by pilot smoking in cockpit The US-Bangla airline Bombardier UBG-211 crash that occurred in March last year took place as the pilot who was in charge of the flight had smoked inside the cockpit despite restrictions, authorities confirmed on Sunday. India vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI: Catch all the live updates here India's bowlers struck early, sending both Kiwi openers back to the pavilion. New Zealand were 59/3 after 16.2 overs at 9 am IST with skipper Kane Williamson departing after his openers. US's Bolton warns Venezuela of 'significant response' if Juan Guaido is threatened National Security Adviser of the United States John Bolton said that any violence and intimidation against US diplomats, Venezuela's "democratic leader" Juan Guaido or the National Assembly will be met with a "significant response" from the US. Brazil dam burst: Death toll touches 58, rescuers find bus full of bodies Fears of a second dam breach at a Brazilian mining complex receded Sunday, enabling a search to resume for the more than 300 people still missing two days after a dam collapse that has killed at least 58 people. To defeat obesity, hunger & climate change, govts must curb influence of big corporations: Lancet To defeat the intertwined pandemics of obesity, hunger and climate change, governments must curb the political influence of major corporations, said a major report Monday calling for a 'global treaty' similar to one for tobacco control. Bu this will not happen unless ordinary citizens demand a "radical rethink" of the relationship between policymakers and business, nearly four dozen experts from The Lancet Commission on Obesity concluded.

News brief: Big stories of the day

A potent combination of hunger, climate change and man-made conflicts are creating a "perfect storm", the head of the UN's food arm warned Tuesday in a call to action on World Food Day.

"You've got a nightmare, the perfect storm heading your way," David Beasley, World Food Programme (WFP) chief, said in a speech in Rome, where the United Nations' food agencies are headquartered.

The UN aims to achieve a Zero Hunger world by 2030, but faces three obstacles: conflicts, climate change and an economic slowdown.

Beasley said the battle was an urgent one. "Children are dying at a rate of every five to ten seconds" from hunger or malnutrition, he said.

Food is being wasted both during the production process and in people's kitchens.

"The answer is not in Rome alone, it's in your homes. What are you going to do about it?" he asked.

It is not a problem wealthier countries can simply ignore, for it has a knock-on effect on them in terms of the migration crisis.

"For every one percent increase in hunger, there's a two percent increase in migration," Beasley said.

Some 821 million people, or one of every nine people on the planet, suffered from hunger last year, marking the third consecutive annual increase, according to the UN's latest hunger report.

An estimated 155 million children under five years old are chronically malnourished, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), while micronutrient deficiencies, dubbed the "hidden hunger", affects over two billion people worldwide.

At the same time, over 600 million people are obese.

The costs to society of the "global pandemic" of obesity are enormous -- as expensive as armed conflicts and smoking, FAO head Jose Graziano da Silva said.

"International solidarity appears to be cooling," warned Pope Francis in a speech delivered by a Vatican representative.

He warned institutions leading the fight against hunger not to "study the roots of (poor people's) misery" and merely respond with "impressive publications destined only to enlarge library catalogues".

"When it is a question of effectively confronting the causes of hunger, grandiose declarations" are not enough, he said.

"The struggle against hunger urgently demands generous financing, the abolition of trade barriers and, above all, greater resilience in the face of climate change, economic crises and warfare."

A potent combination of hunger, climate change and man-made conflicts are creating a "perfect storm", the head of the UN's food arm warned Tuesday in a call to action on World Food Day.

A potent combination of hunger, climate change and man-made conflicts are creating a "perfect storm", the head of the UN's food arm warned Tuesday in a call to action on World Food Day. "You've got a nightmare, the perfect storm heading your way," David Beasley, World Food Programme (WFP) chief, said in a speech in Rome, where the United Nations' food agencies are headquartered. The UN aims to achieve a Zero Hunger world by 2030, but faces three obstacles: conflicts, climate change and an economic slowdown. Beasley said the battle was an urgent one. "Children are dying at a rate of every five to ten seconds" from hunger or malnutrition, he said. Food is being wasted both during the production process and in people's kitchens. "The answer is not in Rome alone, it's in your homes. What are you going to do about it?" he asked. It is not a problem wealthier countries can simply ignore, for it has a knock-on effect on them in terms of the migration crisis. "For every one percent increase in hunger, there's a two percent increase in migration," Beasley said. Some 821 million people, or one of every nine people on the planet, suffered from hunger last year, marking the third consecutive annual increase, according to the UN's latest hunger report. An estimated 155 million children under five years old are chronically malnourished, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), while micronutrient deficiencies, dubbed the "hidden hunger", affects over two billion people worldwide. At the same time, over 600 million people are obese. The costs to society of the "global pandemic" of obesity are enormous -- as expensive as armed conflicts and smoking, FAO head Jose Graziano da Silva said. "International solidarity appears to be cooling," warned Pope Francis in a speech delivered by a Vatican representative. He warned institutions leading the fight against hunger not to "study the roots of (poor people's) misery" and merely respond with "impressive publications destined only to enlarge library catalogues". "When it is a question of effectively confronting the causes of hunger, grandiose declarations" are not enough, he said. "The struggle against hunger urgently demands generous financing, the abolition of trade barriers and, above all, greater resilience in the face of climate change, economic crises and warfare."

'Perfect storm' of hunger, climate change & conflict coming, warns UN

&#39;Take the dregs left from making soy bean oil, which usually go to feed the pigs. Press and roll them into a sandy-coloured paste. Stuff with rice, and top with chilli sauce.&#39;&nbsp;The dish&#39;s name, injogogi, means &quot;man-made meat.&quot;

In North Korea for years it was a recipe for survival. Today it is a popular street food, traded alongside other goods and services on informal markets, known as jangmadang. Defectors say there are hundreds of these markets. The creation and informal trade of injogogi and other foods offers a window into a barter economy that has kept North Korea afloat despite years of isolation, abuse, and sanctions.

&quot;Back in the day, people had injogogi to fill themselves up as a substitute for meat,&quot; said Cho Ui-sung, a North Korean who defected to the South in 2014. &quot;Now people eat it for its taste.&quot;

North Korea was set up with backing from the Soviet Union as a socialist state. The Soviet collapse in 1991 crippled the North Korean economy and brought down its centralised food distribution system. As many as three million people died. Those who survived were forced to forage, barter and invent meals from whatever they found. Since people started to use their own initiative, studies indicate, person-to-person dealings have become the way millions of North Koreans procure basic necessities such as food and clothing.

But the prevalence of informal markets also makes it hard to understand the exact state of the North Korean economy. And this makes it hard to measure how badly sanctions, which do not apply to North Korean food imports, are hurting ordinary people.

Pyongyang has said the curbs threaten the survival of its children. Defectors say a poor corn harvest this year has made it hard for people in rural areas to feed themselves. The agencies who want to help find all this hard to measure.

Pyongyang says 70 per cent of North Koreans still use the state&#39;s central distribution system as their main source of food, the same number of people that the UN estimates are &quot;food insecure.&quot; The system consistently provides lower food rations than the government&#39;s daily target, according to UN food agency the World Food Programme (WFP). The UN uses this information to call on member states to provide food aid for North Korea - $76 million for &quot;nutrition support&quot; alone at its last request of which it has received $42 million.

But surveys and anecdotal evidence from defectors suggest private markets are the main source of supply for most North Koreans.

&quot;It becomes sort of ridiculous to analyse food distribution in North Korea by focusing on an archaic system that&#39;s lost so much of its significance over the past couple of decades,&quot; said Benjamin Silberstein, an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute who researches the North Korean economy.

The WFP and the UN&#39;s other main food aid agency, the Food and Agricultural Organisation, said the UN relies on all available information and inputs, including official statistics. The agencies have a permanent office in Pyongyang and make regular visits to Public Distribution Centres, farms and occasionally markets in North Korea.

&quot;We recognise that the data and their sources are limited but it&#39;s the best we have available at present,&quot; said the UN agencies in a joint statement, referring to the official North Korean government data.

The agencies said they have seen no sign that more food than needed is delivered to North Koreans. &quot;The main issue is a monotonous diet &ndash; mainly rice/maize, kimchi and bean paste &ndash; lacking in essential fats and protein,&quot; the statement said.

The North Korean diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to questions about how international sanctions might be harming food availability and whether U.N. aid agencies had access to markets in North Korea to assess the products on offer.

&nbsp;Sand Eel Sauce

Last year, North Korea&#39;s economy grew by 3.9 percent - its fastest in 17 years and faster than many developed economies, according to South Korea&#39;s central bank. It was helped largely by mining, market reforms, and dealings with China, its neighbour and now the world&#39;s largest economy. Reporters saw signs of chronic hunger in North Korea as recently as 2013, but people who have defected say the food supply has improved in recent years.

Eight defectors told Reuters they ate much the same thing as people in the South. Asked about the contents of their food cupboards, most said they were stocked with privately grown vegetables, locally made snacks, and rice, or if they were poor, corn, which is a cheaper staple.

Younger and wealthier defectors say they had plenty of meat, although it was often seasonal because electric power is too erratic to power fridges. Pork is common, but defectors also talked of eating dog meat, rabbit, and badger.

Even so, on average North Koreans are less well nourished than their Southern neighbours. The WFP says around one in four children have grown less tall than their South Korean counterparts. A study from 2009 said pre-school children in the North were up to 13 cm (5 inches) shorter and up to 7 kg (15 pounds) lighter than those brought up in the South.

The North&#39;s Public Distribution System (PDS) stipulates that 70 percent of people receive ration coupons to spend at state distribution shops. The other 30 percent are farmers who are not eligible for rations because they grow their own vegetables in private plots. According to the WFP, the PDS had been reinstated by 2006.

Defectors say Kim Jong Un, who came to power in 2011, also quietly loosened the rules on private trade.

Some markets, known as &quot;grasshopper markets&quot; for the speed with which traders set up and take down the stalls, are still illegal. But there are also officially sanctioned markets, where traders are free to buy and sell provided they pay stall fees to the state.

Inventions like injogogi are among foods traded on these stalls. It is low in calories but rich in protein and fibre, to help muscle growth and keep hunger at bay, said Lee Ae-ran, a chef from the North Korean town of Hyesan who took a doctorate in nutrition in Seoul. &quot;Because it contains so much protein, it&#39;s also very chewy,&quot; Lee said.

The sauce can be delicious, said Cho. &quot;People who lived by the sea put shredded anchovies in the sauce; people living in the countryside used spicy peppers. I lived close by shore so I used shredded sand eels.&quot;

The jangmadang are remotely monitored by a website called Daily NK, a Seoul-based operation staffed by North Korean defector journalists. It said in a report released this August that there are 387 officially sanctioned markets in the country, encompassing more than half a million stalls. Over 5 million people are either &quot;directly or indirectly&quot; reliant on the markets, &quot;solidifying their place in North Korean society as an integral and irreversible means of survival,&quot; the report said.

In 2015, a survey of 1,017 defectors by Seoul University professor Byung-yeon Kim found that official channels such as the PDS accounted for just 23.5 percent of people&#39;s food intake. Around 61 percent of respondents said private markets were their most important source of food, and the remaining 15.5 percent came from self-cultivated crops.

So the official system may mean little to many North Koreans.

&quot;WFP has consistently been asking (the North Korean government) to carry out a more detailed study on market activity and the role of markets in achieving household food security,&quot; a spokeswoman said.

&nbsp;Pizza in Pyongyang&nbsp;

As in other countries, North Korea&#39;s wealthy have choice. Residents of the capital can order up a pizza in one of Pyongyang&#39;s hundreds of restaurants, say regular visitors. Many of the eateries are operated by state-owned enterprises. Some used to cater only to tourists. Increasingly they now also collect dollars and euros from locals.

At a place people know as the &quot;Italian on Kwangbok Street,&quot; for example, moneyed locals and western tourists alike can pick vongole pasta for $3.50, or pepperoni pizzas for $10, the menu says. This compares with $0.30 for a kilo of corn or $0.50 for a portion of injogogi in the markets.

Reuters was unable to determine how the restaurant sources its ingredients such as pepperoni, although North Korea imports processed meats and cheeses from European countries and Southeast Asia - such imports are legal. Calls to the phone numbers on the menu failed and an operator for the Pyongyang switchboard said the numbers could not be connected to international lines.

As the economy in North Korea has changed, so have the tastes of a moneyed middle class keen to try new foods. Kim Jong Un has called for more domestically produced goods, according to state media, and there are more locally made sweets, snacks and candies. The country does not publish detailed import data but China&#39;s exports of sugar to North Korea in January to September this year ballooned to 44,725 tonnes, Chinese data shows. That is about half of all China&#39;s global sugar exports and compares with 1,236 tonnes in 2016 and 2,843 in 2015.

North Korea does not produce sugar. According to the International Sugar Organization, the North&#39;s sugar consumption is fairly steady at around 89,000-90,000 tonnes a year &ndash; a very modest amount per head. Each South Korean consumes about nine times more than that.

At the other end of the social scale, Chinese data shows corn exports to North Korea also jumped in the first nine months of this year, to nearly 50,000 tonnes, compared with just over 3,000 tonnes in the whole of 2016.

Daily NK reporters say they call secret sources in North Korea several times a week to get the market price of rice, corn, pork, fuels and the won currency - which is traded at around 8,100 to the dollar, as opposed to the official rate of around 100 to the dollar.

So far, their reports suggest, petrol and diesel prices have doubled since the most recent round of UN Security Council resolutions. The market price of rice and corn has increased less sharply. Reuters was not able to independently confirm their reports.

And there are other ways North Koreans can supplement their diets.

&quot;My dad often received bribes,&quot; said one 28-year-old defector who asked to be identified only by her surname, Kang, because when she moved out in late 2010 she left her father behind.

He was a high-ranking public official. The bribes he received included goat meat, dog meat, and deer meat, she said.

North Korea was set up with backing from the Soviet Union as a socialist state. The Soviet collapse in 1991 crippled the North Korean economy and brought down its centralised food distribution system. Those who survived were forced to forage, barter and invent meals from whatever they found

'Take the dregs left from making soy bean oil, which usually go to feed the pigs. Press and roll them into a sandy-coloured paste. Stuff with rice, and top with chilli sauce.' The dish's name, injogogi, means "man-made meat." In North Korea for years it was a recipe for survival. Today it is a popular street food, traded alongside other goods and services on informal markets, known as jangmadang. Defectors say there are hundreds of these markets. The creation and informal trade of injogogi and other foods offers a window into a barter economy that has kept North Korea afloat despite years of isolation, abuse, and sanctions. "Back in the day, people had injogogi to fill themselves up as a substitute for meat," said Cho Ui-sung, a North Korean who defected to the South in 2014. "Now people eat it for its taste." North Korea was set up with backing from the Soviet Union as a socialist state. The Soviet collapse in 1991 crippled the North Korean economy and brought down its centralised food distribution system. As many as three million people died. Those who survived were forced to forage, barter and invent meals from whatever they found. Since people started to use their own initiative, studies indicate, person-to-person dealings have become the way millions of North Koreans procure basic necessities such as food and clothing. But the prevalence of informal markets also makes it hard to understand the exact state of the North Korean economy. And this makes it hard to measure how badly sanctions, which do not apply to North Korean food imports, are hurting ordinary people. Pyongyang has said the curbs threaten the survival of its children. Defectors say a poor corn harvest this year has made it hard for people in rural areas to feed themselves. The agencies who want to help find all this hard to measure. Pyongyang says 70 per cent of North Koreans still use the state's central distribution system as their main source of food, the same number of people that the UN estimates are "food insecure." The system consistently provides lower food rations than the government's daily target, according to UN food agency the World Food Programme (WFP). The UN uses this information to call on member states to provide food aid for North Korea - $76 million for "nutrition support" alone at its last request of which it has received $42 million. But surveys and anecdotal evidence from defectors suggest private markets are the main source of supply for most North Koreans. "It becomes sort of ridiculous to analyse food distribution in North Korea by focusing on an archaic system that's lost so much of its significance over the past couple of decades," said Benjamin Silberstein, an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute who researches the North Korean economy. The WFP and the UN's other main food aid agency, the Food and Agricultural Organisation, said the UN relies on all available information and inputs, including official statistics. The agencies have a permanent office in Pyongyang and make regular visits to Public Distribution Centres, farms and occasionally markets in North Korea. "We recognise that the data and their sources are limited but it's the best we have available at present," said the UN agencies in a joint statement, referring to the official North Korean government data. The agencies said they have seen no sign that more food than needed is delivered to North Koreans. "The main issue is a monotonous diet – mainly rice/maize, kimchi and bean paste – lacking in essential fats and protein," the statement said. The North Korean diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to questions about how international sanctions might be harming food availability and whether U.N. aid agencies had access to markets in North Korea to assess the products on offer. Sand Eel Sauce Last year, North Korea's economy grew by 3.9 percent - its fastest in 17 years and faster than many developed economies, according to South Korea's central bank. It was helped largely by mining, market reforms, and dealings with China, its neighbour and now the world's largest economy. Reporters saw signs of chronic hunger in North Korea as recently as 2013, but people who have defected say the food supply has improved in recent years. Eight defectors told Reuters they ate much the same thing as people in the South. Asked about the contents of their food cupboards, most said they were stocked with privately grown vegetables, locally made snacks, and rice, or if they were poor, corn, which is a cheaper staple. Younger and wealthier defectors say they had plenty of meat, although it was often seasonal because electric power is too erratic to power fridges. Pork is common, but defectors also talked of eating dog meat, rabbit, and badger. Even so, on average North Koreans are less well nourished than their Southern neighbours. The WFP says around one in four children have grown less tall than their South Korean counterparts. A study from 2009 said pre-school children in the North were up to 13 cm (5 inches) shorter and up to 7 kg (15 pounds) lighter than those brought up in the South. The North's Public Distribution System (PDS) stipulates that 70 percent of people receive ration coupons to spend at state distribution shops. The other 30 percent are farmers who are not eligible for rations because they grow their own vegetables in private plots. According to the WFP, the PDS had been reinstated by 2006. Defectors say Kim Jong Un, who came to power in 2011, also quietly loosened the rules on private trade. Some markets, known as "grasshopper markets" for the speed with which traders set up and take down the stalls, are still illegal. But there are also officially sanctioned markets, where traders are free to buy and sell provided they pay stall fees to the state. Inventions like injogogi are among foods traded on these stalls. It is low in calories but rich in protein and fibre, to help muscle growth and keep hunger at bay, said Lee Ae-ran, a chef from the North Korean town of Hyesan who took a doctorate in nutrition in Seoul. "Because it contains so much protein, it's also very chewy," Lee said. The sauce can be delicious, said Cho. "People who lived by the sea put shredded anchovies in the sauce; people living in the countryside used spicy peppers. I lived close by shore so I used shredded sand eels." The jangmadang are remotely monitored by a website called Daily NK, a Seoul-based operation staffed by North Korean defector journalists. It said in a report released this August that there are 387 officially sanctioned markets in the country, encompassing more than half a million stalls. Over 5 million people are either "directly or indirectly" reliant on the markets, "solidifying their place in North Korean society as an integral and irreversible means of survival," the report said. In 2015, a survey of 1,017 defectors by Seoul University professor Byung-yeon Kim found that official channels such as the PDS accounted for just 23.5 percent of people's food intake. Around 61 percent of respondents said private markets were their most important source of food, and the remaining 15.5 percent came from self-cultivated crops. So the official system may mean little to many North Koreans. "WFP has consistently been asking (the North Korean government) to carry out a more detailed study on market activity and the role of markets in achieving household food security," a spokeswoman said. Pizza in Pyongyang As in other countries, North Korea's wealthy have choice. Residents of the capital can order up a pizza in one of Pyongyang's hundreds of restaurants, say regular visitors. Many of the eateries are operated by state-owned enterprises. Some used to cater only to tourists. Increasingly they now also collect dollars and euros from locals. At a place people know as the "Italian on Kwangbok Street," for example, moneyed locals and western tourists alike can pick vongole pasta for $3.50, or pepperoni pizzas for $10, the menu says. This compares with $0.30 for a kilo of corn or $0.50 for a portion of injogogi in the markets. Reuters was unable to determine how the restaurant sources its ingredients such as pepperoni, although North Korea imports processed meats and cheeses from European countries and Southeast Asia - such imports are legal. Calls to the phone numbers on the menu failed and an operator for the Pyongyang switchboard said the numbers could not be connected to international lines. As the economy in North Korea has changed, so have the tastes of a moneyed middle class keen to try new foods. Kim Jong Un has called for more domestically produced goods, according to state media, and there are more locally made sweets, snacks and candies. The country does not publish detailed import data but China's exports of sugar to North Korea in January to September this year ballooned to 44,725 tonnes, Chinese data shows. That is about half of all China's global sugar exports and compares with 1,236 tonnes in 2016 and 2,843 in 2015. North Korea does not produce sugar. According to the International Sugar Organization, the North's sugar consumption is fairly steady at around 89,000-90,000 tonnes a year – a very modest amount per head. Each South Korean consumes about nine times more than that. At the other end of the social scale, Chinese data shows corn exports to North Korea also jumped in the first nine months of this year, to nearly 50,000 tonnes, compared with just over 3,000 tonnes in the whole of 2016. Daily NK reporters say they call secret sources in North Korea several times a week to get the market price of rice, corn, pork, fuels and the won currency - which is traded at around 8,100 to the dollar, as opposed to the official rate of around 100 to the dollar. So far, their reports suggest, petrol and diesel prices have doubled since the most recent round of UN Security Council resolutions. The market price of rice and corn has increased less sharply. Reuters was not able to independently confirm their reports. And there are other ways North Koreans can supplement their diets. "My dad often received bribes," said one 28-year-old defector who asked to be identified only by her surname, Kang, because when she moved out in late 2010 she left her father behind. He was a high-ranking public official. The bribes he received included goat meat, dog meat, and deer meat, she said.

Fake meat, free markets ease North Koreans' hunger

Is Gundhar Naik home, I asked a woman scrubbing pots and pans outside the house next door.

&quot;Where have you come from, and what do you want here?&quot; she demanded.

I am a journalist from Khariar who has written stories about Gundhar in the past, I explained. I have come to find out how he is doing.

The woman looked closely at me and asked, &quot;Are you Thakurji?&quot; Yes, I said, pleased that she had recognised me after all this time.

I had visited Barlabaheli village in Bangomunda block of Bolangir district, Odisha, several times in 1996-97. Now I was back after a gap of nearly two decades.

In 1996, a severe drought in western Odisha &ndash; across Bolangir, Nuapada and other districts &ndash; had caused hunger and starvation. It led to an exodus &ndash; many migrated for work to the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh. Sadly, it was not unusual for this area &ndash; every 2-3 years a drought caused such conditions at that time.

Balmati Naik, alias Ghamela, a 32-year-old Adivasi widow of an agricultural labourer, was one of around 300 residents of Barlabaheli village. Her husband had died two years earlier. Ghamela had been forced to give up the little piece of land they owned to repay a loan. She worked as a daily-wage labourer, but following the drought, there was no work to be found in the village. Her six-year-old son Gundhar and she were starving. The locals claimed they had informed block development officials of Ghamela&rsquo;s situation before her death, but they did nothing.

On September 6, 1996, after roughly 15 days of starvation, Ghamela died. Many hours later, the neighbours had found her son screaming and crying beside her body.

My stories on this starvation-driven death and its aftermath were published in Dainik Bhaskar in October 1996. Local social workers and some opposition leaders visited the village and took up the issue. Members of the Human Rights Commission also came and noted that it was a death caused by starvation. Political leaders, the block development officers, the district collector and district magistrate made tracks to the village. Even the then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda was scheduled to visit, as part of his tour of drought-hit regions, but did not show up.

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Reports on Ghamela&#39;s starvation-driven death and her orphaned son Gundhar, in &#39;Dainik Bhaskar&#39; in October 1996 (Others)
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The villagers told the visiting officials that employment opportunities were what they needed most. But when they pressed their case, village leaders had alleged, the district magistrate warned them not to play politics or take their protests too far, or the village would be denied the few benefits (such as ration cards) &nbsp;it was getting.

After his mother&#39;s death, Gundhar was very weak. Local panchayat leaders took the child to Khariar Mission Hospital, nine kilometres away, where he was diagnosed with severe malnutrition and cerebral malaria. He was critically ill, but survived.

After he recovered, Gundhar was sent back to the village. The national media arrived to cover the story. The district administration granted him Rs. 5,000 &ndash; a fixed deposit of Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 2,000 in a savings account. And with that, they washed their hands of the orphan.

For 19 years, I had wondered what had happened to Gundhar.

Ghamela&rsquo;s husband had a son, Sushil, from a previous marriage. When she died, he was around 20 years old and working at a road construction site on the Khariar-Bhawanipatna road.

The neighbour told me that Gundhar now works at the Pappu Rice Mill in Tukla village, less than five kilometres from Barlabaheli. His in-laws live in Tukla, she added, and he has a two-month-old baby. His stepbrother works as a haliya (helper) at a nearby farm.

Riding my motorcycle over the ridges of the fields, I found the farm where Sushil was tilling the land owned by his employer. His three daughters and a son were nearby. Sushil, now 40, was unmarried when I had met him following Gundhar&#39;s mother&rsquo;s death. He did not recognise me, but when I reminded him of the stories I had written, he remembered.

Sushil is paid Rs. 4,000 a month, or Rs. 130 per day, on which the family subsists. Some of his kids had clothes on, some did not. Their poverty was evident.

I left for Tukla to meet Gundhar. At the Pappu Rice Mill, I met the owner Pappu, and he informed me that Gundhar had gone to his village that day. I went to his in-laws&#39; house where I met his wife Rashmita, who was holding their baby boy, Subham. Her husband had gone to Barlabaheli to clean the house and had been gone a long time, she said.

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Gundhar&#39;s wife Rashmita (standing, left), his sister-in-law, and parents-in-law outside their house in Tukla village (Others)
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Rashmita and their son Subham (Others)
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I went back to Barlabaheli. Gundhar was indeed at the house. He smiled and greeted me. The six-year-old had become a young man, a husband and a father. &nbsp;But there was still an innocence about him. And he had never fully recovered from the weakness and malnutrition of his childhood.

The house made of mud and tile was much the same. Gundhar&#39;s family lived in one room and Sushil&#39;s family in the other. Gundhar said they had been living with their in-laws for the delivery of the child. They would return to Barlabaheli soon.

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Two of Sushil&#39;s children at the family&#39;s bare home in Barlabaheli village (Others)
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How much do you remember of the past, I asked Gundhar.

&quot;I remember my parents were never well because they were always hungry,&quot; he said. &quot;My mother had a fever. She starved for several days and then she died.&quot;

When he returned to the village from the hospital, prompted by all the publicity that followed my reportage, the administration got him admission at a local ashram (residential) school for Adivasi students.

&quot;I studied till Class 2 or 3,&quot; Gundhar says. &quot;But when I came home for the summer holidays, it was difficult to get any food. So I shepherded goats and sheep for people and ate whatever they gave me. I never went back to school. Then I worked at a hotel near Tukla. They gave me food and Rs. 50 a day. Once I went with 2-3 friends to work at a brick kiln at Mahasamund. We worked for 3-4 months, but the brick kiln owner did not pay us, intimidated us, and drove us away. &nbsp;We came back and started shepherding cows and bulls for the villagers.&quot;

His brother and sister-in-law got him married. &quot;I am a poor man. The day I earn is the day I eat. So I could not afford any celebration and just brought my bride home.&quot;

How much do you earn at the Pappu mill in Tukla, I asked.

&ldquo;I sew jute sacks there, for which I get Rs. 80 per day,&quot; he replied. &quot;Those who lift sacks of rice get Rs. 130 per day. But I cannot lift the weight in this heat, so I tailor the jute sacks.&rdquo;

Gundhar does not have a BPL (below poverty line) card but has an Antyodaya card under which he gets 35 kilos of rice per month.

Will you educate your children, I ask him.

&ldquo;I am a poor man. I will educate them as much as I can. Because we have trouble getting enough food, my wife cannot breastfeed the baby. So we have to buy Amul milk; that takes most of our money.&quot;

When I once again visited his village a month ago, Gundhar had left for Andhra Pradesh to work at the brick kilns. His entire family had gone to the kilns, to work and raise money for his sister-in-law&#39;s wedding. But they had to work so hard against the six-month advance payment of Rs. 18,000 they received per person, that after returning to Barlabaheli recurring illnesses and medical expenses took up a lot of the money they had earned and tried to save for the wedding.

After a while, Gundhar went back to the kilns. He is now working as a loader there, piling bricks onto tractors for their onward journey.

Nineteen years on, this young man and his family are still struggling to stave off the hunger that claimed his mother and left him with a lifelong frailty.

This <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/the-long-aftermath-of-hunger/" rel="nofollow" target="blank">article</a> was originally&nbsp;published on 21/ 10/2016&nbsp;on the&nbsp;<a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/" rel="nofollow" target="blank">People&#39;s Archive of Rural India.</a>

Photo Credit: Purusottam Thakur

Balmati Naik died of starvation in Barlabaheli village, Odisha, leaving behind her six-year-old son.

Is Gundhar Naik home, I asked a woman scrubbing pots and pans outside the house next door. "Where have you come from, and what do you want here?" she demanded. I am a journalist from Khariar who has written stories about Gundhar in the past, I explained. I have come to find out how he is doing. The woman looked closely at me and asked, "Are you Thakurji?" Yes, I said, pleased that she had recognised me after all this time. I had visited Barlabaheli village in Bangomunda block of Bolangir district, Odisha, several times in 1996-97. Now I was back after a gap of nearly two decades. In 1996, a severe drought in western Odisha – across Bolangir, Nuapada and other districts – had caused hunger and starvation. It led to an exodus – many migrated for work to the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh. Sadly, it was not unusual for this area – every 2-3 years a drought caused such conditions at that time. Balmati Naik, alias Ghamela, a 32-year-old Adivasi widow of an agricultural labourer, was one of around 300 residents of Barlabaheli village. Her husband had died two years earlier. Ghamela had been forced to give up the little piece of land they owned to repay a loan. She worked as a daily-wage labourer, but following the drought, there was no work to be found in the village. Her six-year-old son Gundhar and she were starving. The locals claimed they had informed block development officials of Ghamela’s situation before her death, but they did nothing. On September 6, 1996, after roughly 15 days of starvation, Ghamela died. Many hours later, the neighbours had found her son screaming and crying beside her body. My stories on this starvation-driven death and its aftermath were published in Dainik Bhaskar in October 1996. Local social workers and some opposition leaders visited the village and took up the issue. Members of the Human Rights Commission also came and noted that it was a death caused by starvation. Political leaders, the block development officers, the district collector and district magistrate made tracks to the village. Even the then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda was scheduled to visit, as part of his tour of drought-hit regions, but did not show up. Reports on Ghamela's starvation-driven death and her orphaned son Gundhar, in 'Dainik Bhaskar' in October 1996 (Others) × The villagers told the visiting officials that employment opportunities were what they needed most. But when they pressed their case, village leaders had alleged, the district magistrate warned them not to play politics or take their protests too far, or the village would be denied the few benefits (such as ration cards) it was getting. After his mother's death, Gundhar was very weak. Local panchayat leaders took the child to Khariar Mission Hospital, nine kilometres away, where he was diagnosed with severe malnutrition and cerebral malaria. He was critically ill, but survived. After he recovered, Gundhar was sent back to the village. The national media arrived to cover the story. The district administration granted him Rs. 5,000 – a fixed deposit of Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 2,000 in a savings account. And with that, they washed their hands of the orphan. For 19 years, I had wondered what had happened to Gundhar. Ghamela’s husband had a son, Sushil, from a previous marriage. When she died, he was around 20 years old and working at a road construction site on the Khariar-Bhawanipatna road. The neighbour told me that Gundhar now works at the Pappu Rice Mill in Tukla village, less than five kilometres from Barlabaheli. His in-laws live in Tukla, she added, and he has a two-month-old baby. His stepbrother works as a haliya (helper) at a nearby farm. Riding my motorcycle over the ridges of the fields, I found the farm where Sushil was tilling the land owned by his employer. His three daughters and a son were nearby. Sushil, now 40, was unmarried when I had met him following Gundhar's mother’s death. He did not recognise me, but when I reminded him of the stories I had written, he remembered. Sushil is paid Rs. 4,000 a month, or Rs. 130 per day, on which the family subsists. Some of his kids had clothes on, some did not. Their poverty was evident. I left for Tukla to meet Gundhar. At the Pappu Rice Mill, I met the owner Pappu, and he informed me that Gundhar had gone to his village that day. I went to his in-laws' house where I met his wife Rashmita, who was holding their baby boy, Subham. Her husband had gone to Barlabaheli to clean the house and had been gone a long time, she said. Gundhar's wife Rashmita (standing, left), his sister-in-law, and parents-in-law outside their house in Tukla village (Others) × Rashmita and their son Subham (Others) × I went back to Barlabaheli. Gundhar was indeed at the house. He smiled and greeted me. The six-year-old had become a young man, a husband and a father. But there was still an innocence about him. And he had never fully recovered from the weakness and malnutrition of his childhood. The house made of mud and tile was much the same. Gundhar's family lived in one room and Sushil's family in the other. Gundhar said they had been living with their in-laws for the delivery of the child. They would return to Barlabaheli soon. Two of Sushil's children at the family's bare home in Barlabaheli village (Others) × How much do you remember of the past, I asked Gundhar. "I remember my parents were never well because they were always hungry," he said. "My mother had a fever. She starved for several days and then she died." When he returned to the village from the hospital, prompted by all the publicity that followed my reportage, the administration got him admission at a local ashram (residential) school for Adivasi students. "I studied till Class 2 or 3," Gundhar says. "But when I came home for the summer holidays, it was difficult to get any food. So I shepherded goats and sheep for people and ate whatever they gave me. I never went back to school. Then I worked at a hotel near Tukla. They gave me food and Rs. 50 a day. Once I went with 2-3 friends to work at a brick kiln at Mahasamund. We worked for 3-4 months, but the brick kiln owner did not pay us, intimidated us, and drove us away. We came back and started shepherding cows and bulls for the villagers." His brother and sister-in-law got him married. "I am a poor man. The day I earn is the day I eat. So I could not afford any celebration and just brought my bride home." How much do you earn at the Pappu mill in Tukla, I asked. “I sew jute sacks there, for which I get Rs. 80 per day," he replied. "Those who lift sacks of rice get Rs. 130 per day. But I cannot lift the weight in this heat, so I tailor the jute sacks.” Gundhar does not have a BPL (below poverty line) card but has an Antyodaya card under which he gets 35 kilos of rice per month. Will you educate your children, I ask him. “I am a poor man. I will educate them as much as I can. Because we have trouble getting enough food, my wife cannot breastfeed the baby. So we have to buy Amul milk; that takes most of our money." When I once again visited his village a month ago, Gundhar had left for Andhra Pradesh to work at the brick kilns. His entire family had gone to the kilns, to work and raise money for his sister-in-law's wedding. But they had to work so hard against the six-month advance payment of Rs. 18,000 they received per person, that after returning to Barlabaheli recurring illnesses and medical expenses took up a lot of the money they had earned and tried to save for the wedding. After a while, Gundhar went back to the kilns. He is now working as a loader there, piling bricks onto tractors for their onward journey. Nineteen years on, this young man and his family are still struggling to stave off the hunger that claimed his mother and left him with a lifelong frailty. This article was originally published on 21/ 10/2016 on the People's Archive of Rural India. Photo Credit: Purusottam Thakur

The long aftermath of hunger

The stately Ch&acirc;teau Frontenac looms imposingly over Quebec City, its copper roofs and weathered brick a world apart from the tan of Lutyens&rsquo; Delhi. Little at first glance links the grand hotel to the fields and people of a hungry subcontinent. Yet it was this building where, seventy years ago today, a small Indian delegation arrived to ask for help for a fledgling nation.

In October 1946, India was barely past the horrors of the Bengal Famine, and the nationalists who had brought the freedom struggle to its dramatic end were worried that their promises of abundance would soon founder against the realities of empty godowns, barren fields, and depleted supplies of foreign reserves. Earlier in the year, Indian statesmen had toured the United States to plead for food for the new nation. And in autumn, the veteran statesman G.S. Bajpai was sent to Quebec to represent India at the First Session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Bajpai spoke to the staggering &ldquo;problems of hunger and of poverty&rdquo; that India was prepared to tackle on its own accord, asking for the Organisation&rsquo;s help in procuring small-scale mechanical appliances, &ldquo;trained technical men,&rdquo; and markets that would ensure fair prices.

For 35 years, October 16 has been celebrated as World Food Day, an occasion to renew a global commitment to a world without hunger. Yet seventy years after that meeting in Quebec, there is precious little to celebrate in India&rsquo;s continuing struggle against hunger and malnutrition. It remains incumbent upon researchers, politicians, and citizens to consider the dismaying state of India&rsquo;s food position today, reaffirming a commitment that has grown no less vital with time.

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<h5>there is precious little to celebrate in India&rsquo;s continuing struggle against hunger and malnutrition</h5>
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Seven decades ago, G.S. Bajpai struggled to quantify India&rsquo;s hunger, suggesting that nearly a third of the incipient nation&rsquo;s 400 million people were hungry. But the efforts of Indian and international groups to quantity the nation&rsquo;s hunger have painted a clearer and no less appalling picture. The most recent Global Hunger Index report, issued by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), paints a damning picture of India&rsquo;s enduring hunger. In spite of a quantitative grain surplus, fifteen per cent of India&rsquo;s citizens remain underfed, and nearly forty percent of children under five are stunted by malnutrition.&nbsp;

India is the second worst-fed country in the region after Pakistan, and its index ranking of 28.5 puts it just ahead of clunkers like Zimbabwe and North Korea. Nor is the report optimistic: by 2030, India is predicted to be scarcely better-off than today. Several years ago, before it was unceremoniously shuttered, India&rsquo;s own National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau reported that rural Indians were eating decidedly worse than they had forty years prior, to the tune of 550 fewer calories and 13 fewer grams of protein a day.&nbsp;

In the earliest years of India&rsquo;s independence, legislators tussled over the ways in which food might be guaranteed through law. &ldquo;Is there a single word in the Constitution,&rdquo; one delegate to the Constituent Assembly asked, &ldquo;that imposes on the future Governments the obligation to see that nobody in India dies of starvation?&rdquo; Yet comprehensive legislation remained elusive, even as India weathered recurrent subsistence crises, celebrated Green Revolution advances, and worked to make sense of a political landscape remade by agrarian capitalists.

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<h5>&ldquo;Is there a single word in the Constitution,&rdquo; one delegate to the Constituent Assembly asked, &ldquo;that imposes on the future Governments the obligation to see that nobody in India dies of starvation?&rdquo;</h5>
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The most spirited attempt to enshrine a right to food into law came in late 2013, when the Congress government managed to push an ambitious National Food Security Act through Parliament. Against protests of fiscal excess, the Act&rsquo;s proponents extolled its provisions as the legislative safeguards that would finally quash India&rsquo;s nutritional inequality. Bringing together a coterie of schemes under a single roof, the Act declared two-thirds of India&rsquo;s population eligible for five kilograms of cereals a month at heavily subsidised rates. In certain poorer states, nearly 80 per cent of citizens became eligible for these cheap cereals &mdash; a victory for the liberal economists and left-leaning politicians who had long agitated for more expansive entitlements.

By the time the Act&rsquo;s provisions were to have come into force, the new BJP-led government had taken the reins in New Delhi. In states where the Act was implemented quickly, like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, the benefits were clear: coverage of beneficiaries increased, and the theft, loss, and waste that claimed nearly 90% of rations a decade earlier had been reduced to around 10 per cent. Yet other states stalled, eager like the national government to reduce spending on subsidies.&nbsp;

In February 2016, the Supreme Court reproached nine states and two union territories which had failed to implement the Act. Activists and scholars studying those states surveyed a depressing status quo: missing ration cards and incomplete rosters, claims of inadequate supplies and overpricing, and grains unfit for human consumption. The Centre, meanwhile, shows no terrible enthusiasm for the Act, preferring to focus on the showier, &ldquo;value-added&rdquo; sectors of food and agriculture, like greenhouse and organic farming techniques, the construction of new food processing units, and the opening-up of food marketing and retailing to foreign direct investment.

In the absence of better implementation of existing legislation, it&rsquo;s unsurprising that the management of hunger is increasingly seen as the purview of private initiative, corporate social responsibility, and the designs of regional politicking. The United Nations recently named a former management consultant one of its U.N. Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals for his initiative to redistribute excess food from weddings and parties to hungry citizens.&nbsp;

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Public health researchers have looked with worry to India&rsquo;s &ldquo;double burden&rdquo; of cheek-by-jowl obesity and malnutrition, with a fifth of India&rsquo;s population now overweight. These experts no doubt rolled their eyes over KFC&rsquo;s recent pledge of a Rs. 5 donation to a private food bank for each bucket of deep-fried poultry sold. And in Tamil Nadu &mdash; the State that pioneered midday meal distribution in the 1960s &mdash; &ldquo;Amma Canteens&rdquo; dole out subsidized fare to workers to drum up support for the AIADMK party and the state&rsquo;s mononymous Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

The desire of entrepreneurs, corporations, and politicians to make their mark on the nation&rsquo;s most visible developmental failure is neither new nor inherently undesirable. Relief organisations have doled out meals since the Bengal Famine and civic-minded industrialists have proffered up schemes for plenty since the &ldquo;Bombay Plan&rdquo; of 1944. If any of these new relief projects can staunch some of India&rsquo;s abiding hunger, so much the better. Yet no app nor corporate food bank or canteen can compensate for a public distribution system unassisted by meaningful reform. And the failure of ventures like Bharti-Walmart to lessen India&rsquo;s prodigious food wastage suggests that private enterprise alone cannot better India&rsquo;s damning nutritional indicators.

What, then, might work to finally actualise India&rsquo;s seven-decade promise of plenty?&nbsp;The solutions are neither glamorous, nor novel, but are far more feasible than incriminating statistics might suggest.

Votaries of free markets and state-driven development alike must abandon dogma. They need to come together around a public distribution system that is robust and assured, but which allows for creative experimentation in more food secure regions. In the face of data demonstrating the real effects of guaranteed entitlements, India&rsquo;s politicians must double down on these commitments, eschewing the temptation to abandon them on account of expense, move too quickly into flashier projects, or cede control to opportunistic free marketeers.

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Simultaneously, these commitments must not preclude important experimentation aimed at helping consumers and producers. New Delhi is perhaps too ready to embrace cash transfers in place of cereal rations, but if substantial, regular payments are proven not only to cost less but to provide equivalent nutrition as well, there is no reason to stay with an older model.&nbsp;

Perhaps just as importantly, India&rsquo;s politicians and citizens must take to heart the notion that hunger is not merely the fodder for politicking, nor simply the object of feel-good campaigns undertaken in the name of corporate social responsibility. India&rsquo;s failure to actualise the promise of plenty is a developmental defeat, and a betrayal of the vision of its freedom fighters, but also a tangible obstacle to the promise of equitable growth and global pre-eminence. The MNCs will not be eager to &ldquo;Make in India&rdquo; if its Global Hunger Index lumbers somewhere below Malawi&rsquo;s. The nation&rsquo;s struggling efforts to produce more and distribute more equitably are a substantive impediment to an India that is productive, healthy, and capable of actualising its full developmental potential.&nbsp;

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If World Hunger Day is an opportunity to reflect on these challenges, so too might it be possible to take comfort in the notion that the answers are waiting in plain sight. G.S. Bajpai&rsquo;s 1946 request for tools, information, and fair markets for producers and consumers contains within it the seeds of today&rsquo;s solutions. It remains incumbent upon us, in 2016, to dedicate ourselves to nurturing them.

India?s failure to actualise the promise of plenty is a developmental defeat, and a betrayal of the vision of its freedom fighters

The stately Château Frontenac looms imposingly over Quebec City, its copper roofs and weathered brick a world apart from the tan of Lutyens’ Delhi. Little at first glance links the grand hotel to the fields and people of a hungry subcontinent. Yet it was this building where, seventy years ago today, a small Indian delegation arrived to ask for help for a fledgling nation. In October 1946, India was barely past the horrors of the Bengal Famine, and the nationalists who had brought the freedom struggle to its dramatic end were worried that their promises of abundance would soon founder against the realities of empty godowns, barren fields, and depleted supplies of foreign reserves. Earlier in the year, Indian statesmen had toured the United States to plead for food for the new nation. And in autumn, the veteran statesman G.S. Bajpai was sent to Quebec to represent India at the First Session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Bajpai spoke to the staggering “problems of hunger and of poverty” that India was prepared to tackle on its own accord, asking for the Organisation’s help in procuring small-scale mechanical appliances, “trained technical men,” and markets that would ensure fair prices. For 35 years, October 16 has been celebrated as World Food Day, an occasion to renew a global commitment to a world without hunger. Yet seventy years after that meeting in Quebec, there is precious little to celebrate in India’s continuing struggle against hunger and malnutrition. It remains incumbent upon researchers, politicians, and citizens to consider the dismaying state of India’s food position today, reaffirming a commitment that has grown no less vital with time. there is precious little to celebrate in India’s continuing struggle against hunger and malnutrition × Seven decades ago, G.S. Bajpai struggled to quantify India’s hunger, suggesting that nearly a third of the incipient nation’s 400 million people were hungry. But the efforts of Indian and international groups to quantity the nation’s hunger have painted a clearer and no less appalling picture. The most recent Global Hunger Index report, issued by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), paints a damning picture of India’s enduring hunger. In spite of a quantitative grain surplus, fifteen per cent of India’s citizens remain underfed, and nearly forty percent of children under five are stunted by malnutrition. India is the second worst-fed country in the region after Pakistan, and its index ranking of 28.5 puts it just ahead of clunkers like Zimbabwe and North Korea. Nor is the report optimistic: by 2030, India is predicted to be scarcely better-off than today. Several years ago, before it was unceremoniously shuttered, India’s own National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau reported that rural Indians were eating decidedly worse than they had forty years prior, to the tune of 550 fewer calories and 13 fewer grams of protein a day. In the earliest years of India’s independence, legislators tussled over the ways in which food might be guaranteed through law. “Is there a single word in the Constitution,” one delegate to the Constituent Assembly asked, “that imposes on the future Governments the obligation to see that nobody in India dies of starvation?” Yet comprehensive legislation remained elusive, even as India weathered recurrent subsistence crises, celebrated Green Revolution advances, and worked to make sense of a political landscape remade by agrarian capitalists. “Is there a single word in the Constitution,” one delegate to the Constituent Assembly asked, “that imposes on the future Governments the obligation to see that nobody in India dies of starvation?” × The most spirited attempt to enshrine a right to food into law came in late 2013, when the Congress government managed to push an ambitious National Food Security Act through Parliament. Against protests of fiscal excess, the Act’s proponents extolled its provisions as the legislative safeguards that would finally quash India’s nutritional inequality. Bringing together a coterie of schemes under a single roof, the Act declared two-thirds of India’s population eligible for five kilograms of cereals a month at heavily subsidised rates. In certain poorer states, nearly 80 per cent of citizens became eligible for these cheap cereals — a victory for the liberal economists and left-leaning politicians who had long agitated for more expansive entitlements. By the time the Act’s provisions were to have come into force, the new BJP-led government had taken the reins in New Delhi. In states where the Act was implemented quickly, like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, the benefits were clear: coverage of beneficiaries increased, and the theft, loss, and waste that claimed nearly 90% of rations a decade earlier had been reduced to around 10 per cent. Yet other states stalled, eager like the national government to reduce spending on subsidies. In February 2016, the Supreme Court reproached nine states and two union territories which had failed to implement the Act. Activists and scholars studying those states surveyed a depressing status quo: missing ration cards and incomplete rosters, claims of inadequate supplies and overpricing, and grains unfit for human consumption. The Centre, meanwhile, shows no terrible enthusiasm for the Act, preferring to focus on the showier, “value-added” sectors of food and agriculture, like greenhouse and organic farming techniques, the construction of new food processing units, and the opening-up of food marketing and retailing to foreign direct investment. In the absence of better implementation of existing legislation, it’s unsurprising that the management of hunger is increasingly seen as the purview of private initiative, corporate social responsibility, and the designs of regional politicking. The United Nations recently named a former management consultant one of its U.N. Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals for his initiative to redistribute excess food from weddings and parties to hungry citizens. the management of hunger is increasingly seen as the purview of private initiative, corporate social responsibility, and the designs of regional politicking × Public health researchers have looked with worry to India’s “double burden” of cheek-by-jowl obesity and malnutrition, with a fifth of India’s population now overweight. These experts no doubt rolled their eyes over KFC’s recent pledge of a Rs. 5 donation to a private food bank for each bucket of deep-fried poultry sold. And in Tamil Nadu — the State that pioneered midday meal distribution in the 1960s — “Amma Canteens” dole out subsidized fare to workers to drum up support for the AIADMK party and the state’s mononymous Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. The desire of entrepreneurs, corporations, and politicians to make their mark on the nation’s most visible developmental failure is neither new nor inherently undesirable. Relief organisations have doled out meals since the Bengal Famine and civic-minded industrialists have proffered up schemes for plenty since the “Bombay Plan” of 1944. If any of these new relief projects can staunch some of India’s abiding hunger, so much the better. Yet no app nor corporate food bank or canteen can compensate for a public distribution system unassisted by meaningful reform. And the failure of ventures like Bharti-Walmart to lessen India’s prodigious food wastage suggests that private enterprise alone cannot better India’s damning nutritional indicators. What, then, might work to finally actualise India’s seven-decade promise of plenty? The solutions are neither glamorous, nor novel, but are far more feasible than incriminating statistics might suggest. Votaries of free markets and state-driven development alike must abandon dogma. They need to come together around a public distribution system that is robust and assured, but which allows for creative experimentation in more food secure regions. In the face of data demonstrating the real effects of guaranteed entitlements, India’s politicians must double down on these commitments, eschewing the temptation to abandon them on account of expense, move too quickly into flashier projects, or cede control to opportunistic free marketeers. They need to come together around a public distribution system that is robust and assured, but which allows for creative experimentation in more food secure regions. × Simultaneously, these commitments must not preclude important experimentation aimed at helping consumers and producers. New Delhi is perhaps too ready to embrace cash transfers in place of cereal rations, but if substantial, regular payments are proven not only to cost less but to provide equivalent nutrition as well, there is no reason to stay with an older model. Perhaps just as importantly, India’s politicians and citizens must take to heart the notion that hunger is not merely the fodder for politicking, nor simply the object of feel-good campaigns undertaken in the name of corporate social responsibility. India’s failure to actualise the promise of plenty is a developmental defeat, and a betrayal of the vision of its freedom fighters, but also a tangible obstacle to the promise of equitable growth and global pre-eminence. The MNCs will not be eager to “Make in India” if its Global Hunger Index lumbers somewhere below Malawi’s. The nation’s struggling efforts to produce more and distribute more equitably are a substantive impediment to an India that is productive, healthy, and capable of actualising its full developmental potential. The nation’s struggling efforts to produce more and distribute more equitably are a substantive impediment to an India that is productive, healthy, and capable of actualising its full developmental potential. × If World Hunger Day is an opportunity to reflect on these challenges, so too might it be possible to take comfort in the notion that the answers are waiting in plain sight. G.S. Bajpai’s 1946 request for tools, information, and fair markets for producers and consumers contains within it the seeds of today’s solutions. It remains incumbent upon us, in 2016, to dedicate ourselves to nurturing them.

World Food Day: 35 years on, India still struggles against hunger

Somalia&#39;s prime minister announced today that 110 people have died from hunger in the past 48 hours in a single region as a severe drought threatens millions of people across the country.

It was the first death toll announced by Somalia&#39;s government since it declared the drought a national disaster on Tuesday.

The United Nations estimates that 5 million people in this Horn of Africa nation need aid, amid warnings of a full-blown famine. 
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire spoke during a meeting with the Somali National Drought Committee. The death toll he announced is from the Bay region in the southwest part of the country alone.

Somalia was one of four regions singled out by the UN secretary-general last month in a USD 4.4 billion aid appeal to avert catastrophic hunger and famine, along with northeast Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.

All are connected by a thread of violent conflict, the UN chief said. The government has said the widespread hunger &quot;makes people vulnerable to exploitation, human rights abuses and to criminal and terrorist networks&quot;.

The UN humanitarian coordinator, Stephen O&#39;Brien, was expected to visit Somalia in the next few days.

Thousands have been streaming into Somalia&#39;s capital, Mogadishu, in search of food aid, overwhelming local and international aid agencies. Over 7,000 internally displaced people checked into one feeding center recently.

The drought is the first crisis for Somalia&#39;s newly elected Somali-American leader, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.

Previous droughts and a quarter-century of conflict, including ongoing attacks by extremist group al-Shabab, have left the country fragile. Mohamed has appealed to the international community and Somalia&#39;s diaspora of 2 million people for help.

About 363,000 acutely malnourished children in Somalia &quot;need urgent treatment and nutrition support, including 71,000 who are severely malnourished,&quot; the US Agency for International Development&#39;s Famine Early Warning Systems Network has warned.

Because of a lack of clean water in many areas, there is the additional threat of cholera and other diseases, UN experts say. Some deaths from cholera already have been reported.

The UN humanitarian appeal for 2017 for Somalia is USD 864&nbsp;million to provide assistance to 3.9 million people. But the UN World Food Program recently requested an additional USD 26 million plan to respond to the drought.

(PTI)

The government said widespread hunger 'makes people vulnerable to exploitation, human rights abuses and to criminal and terrorist networks'

Somalia's prime minister announced today that 110 people have died from hunger in the past 48 hours in a single region as a severe drought threatens millions of people across the country. It was the first death toll announced by Somalia's government since it declared the drought a national disaster on Tuesday. The United Nations estimates that 5 million people in this Horn of Africa nation need aid, amid warnings of a full-blown famine. Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire spoke during a meeting with the Somali National Drought Committee. The death toll he announced is from the Bay region in the southwest part of the country alone. Somalia was one of four regions singled out by the UN secretary-general last month in a USD 4.4 billion aid appeal to avert catastrophic hunger and famine, along with northeast Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen. All are connected by a thread of violent conflict, the UN chief said. The government has said the widespread hunger "makes people vulnerable to exploitation, human rights abuses and to criminal and terrorist networks". The UN humanitarian coordinator, Stephen O'Brien, was expected to visit Somalia in the next few days. Thousands have been streaming into Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, in search of food aid, overwhelming local and international aid agencies. Over 7,000 internally displaced people checked into one feeding center recently. The drought is the first crisis for Somalia's newly elected Somali-American leader, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. Previous droughts and a quarter-century of conflict, including ongoing attacks by extremist group al-Shabab, have left the country fragile. Mohamed has appealed to the international community and Somalia's diaspora of 2 million people for help. About 363,000 acutely malnourished children in Somalia "need urgent treatment and nutrition support, including 71,000 who are severely malnourished," the US Agency for International Development's Famine Early Warning Systems Network has warned. Because of a lack of clean water in many areas, there is the additional threat of cholera and other diseases, UN experts say. Some deaths from cholera already have been reported. The UN humanitarian appeal for 2017 for Somalia is USD 864 million to provide assistance to 3.9 million people. But the UN World Food Program recently requested an additional USD 26 million plan to respond to the drought. (PTI)

Somalia drought: ?110 dead from hunger in past 48 hours

By Ruchika Thakur

On 29 August, Meena Devi, former principal of a primary school in Dharmasati Gandaman, in the northern Indian State of Bihar, was sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment for the death of 23 children who died after consuming mid-day meal in 2013. She was found guilty under the charge of culpable homicide and criminal negligence for serving a meal of rice and soybeans laced with pesticides by the local court. A total of 47 children had fallen ill after consuming the meal, of which 23 died. &nbsp;A mass graveyard was created outside the school as a reminder of the tragedy. 
&nbsp; 
The first mid-day meal in India was implemented in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and is credited with encouraging children to study, thereby improving the literacy rates in the country. It not only improved the literacy rates, but also the nutritional levels. 
&nbsp; 
But owing to a number of instances where children have fallen sick after consuming mid-day meal, the responsibility to ensure that the food is edible and nutritious falls on the principal, who tastes the food before it is served to children. 
&nbsp; 
Nobody doubts the well-intentioned scheme was started by the government in 1995 first to improve the nutritional levels of children studying in classes I to VIII in a government school and the second to encourage children belonging to disadvantaged backgrounds to attend classes regularly. Moreover, currently, it is being consumed by 100 million children served in 1.15 million government schools, according to government data. But, at least 4,000 kids have fallen sick in the last two years if you collate the media reports of food poisoning due to mid-day meal. 
&nbsp; 
Reality Check 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;The quality is just fine, we mention in the register that food is of average quality,&rdquo;&nbsp;said Amar Singh, principal-in-charge of Junior High School, Harola. He has kept the sample of the watery Soybean curry and rice in tiffin for us to inspect. 
&nbsp; 
Harola, situated some 30 kilometres from the capital&nbsp;Delhi, is one of the schools which does not have provisions of kitchen-cum-stores. It is hidden behind a flock of traders and vendors and is guarded by a huge black gate.

Two tall steel food containers are kept in the corridor covered with a quilt. Because of the unavailability of a kitchen-cum-store provision, once the food is delivered, it is either kept in one of the classrooms or in the principal&rsquo;s cabin. 
&nbsp; 
Mid-day meals are either cooked at the schools or they are outsourced to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The Harola School gets ready-to-eat meals cooked by an NGO Dalit Prahari. 
&nbsp; 
The school is a perfect right angle, with classes lined along the lines of the angles. &ldquo;Children don&rsquo;t have much choice, they get Khichdi (a preparation made of rice and lentils) thrice a week but they have added a fruit and a glass of milk to the weekly menu,&rsquo;&rsquo; Singh added. 
&nbsp; 
The school has a total of 478 children studying from class VI to VIII. Sitting behind a desk, he shows us the mid-day meal register which contains the details of how many children ate the meal, what was served to students and the signature of the principal. 
&nbsp; 
Teachers Prerna Tomar and Vikhlesh are on mid-day meal duty this month. On being asked about the additional responsibility of serving meals, Tomar said: &ldquo;Managing mid-day neals is nothing compared to other miscellaneous jobs that the government asks us to do.&rdquo; 
&nbsp; 
But Anoop, a standard VI student, told us, &ldquo;Very few students eat the meals and it is served by class VII students.&rdquo; 
&nbsp; 
Different areas, different rules 
&nbsp; 
We didn&rsquo;t face many difficulties when we visited the Harola School, but&nbsp;schools in the capital were reluctant to talk to us. 
Located in the plush locality of Lodhi Road, the NP Co-ed Secondary gets its mid-day deal from Akshay Patra NGO. Arun Bhanot, the Vice Principal proudly shows us the Mid-Day Meal register and tells us that food is only served when the helpers wear gloves, surprise visits are undertaken by the authorities regularly, and parents are invited daily to taste the meal served in school. 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;There have been instances when we sent back food because we were doubtful of its quality, in such times we buy biscuits for children.&rdquo; 
&nbsp; 
She asked us to visit the next day to see how the food is served, later in the day she called us and asked us to take permission from the Directorate of Education before visiting them.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The schools in the capital fall under three different authorities, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and government school. NP Secondary School comes under the jurisdiction of NDMC. 
&nbsp; 
It is a difficult task to make the school authorities talk to us about the government scheme. We are met with suspicious stares and asked to come with a written permission from the block officer.

We visited a secondary school in Khichripur area. The school resembled a jail with barbed wires and tall walls and a gate which nobody opened even after repeated knocks. We are allowed to enter after much apprehension. But, no sooner had we entered than the Vice Principal asked us to leave, serving of the mid-day meal was in progress and the two containers with food were kept under a Neem tree in the school playground. 
&nbsp; 
Lana Whittaker, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, researching India&rsquo;s mid-day meal scheme in an e-mail exchange said that though mid-day meal can make a significant contribution to the recommended daily intake of calories and protein, and in terms of food groups, cereals and pulses but food is not necessarily implemented as per the guidelines plus the government doesn&rsquo;t seem to be doing enough to check the quality of food. 
&nbsp; 
We visited two more schools, another one in Khichripur and the second one in Anand Vihar. The Principals were reluctant to answer our questions and asked us to get the required permits.

Is it a missed opportunity? 
&nbsp; 
While the eggs are being replaced by bananas in mid-day meal menu in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Global Hunger Index released a report stating that 15.2% of people in India are undernourished. 
&nbsp; 
Whittaker said, &ldquo;Given the severity of child malnutrition in India, the removal of eggs or the failure to include eggs or an item equivalent in nutritional value is worrying.&rdquo; 
&nbsp; 
Linking the incidence of Tuberculosis disease to undernutrition and urging that non-egg eaters should not impose their beliefs on children, Dr Binayak Sen, a paediatrician, public health specialist and activist said, &ldquo;There are a large number of people with the incidence of TB disease because there is a connection between the nutritional status of the population and the incidence of TB disease. In India, we don&#39;t have an adequate mechanism to deal with the coming TB epidemic affecting the nutrition deficient adult and child population.&rdquo; 
&nbsp; 
Scheme marred by red tape 
&nbsp; 
Saying that the scheme is not a charity and that children are entitled to the meal, Whittaker added, &ldquo;It is the responsibility of a range of actors, including all levels of government, teachers, cooks and NGOs to ensure their duties are fulfilled and the children receive their entitlements. Amongst other things, this includes ensuring schools and NGOs follow the menu, there is adequate infrastructure in schools, money and grain arrives in schools on time, the budget is sufficient to provide a full and nutritious meal and teachers and cooks perform their duties and importantly have the capacity to do so. The idea of the capacity of those at the school level is particularly important. Effective accountability mechanisms also need to be in place to ensure that when these duties are not fulfilled, this can be identified and addressed.&rdquo; 
&nbsp; 
But scheme seems to be entangled in layers of red tape. On the condition of anonymity, a highly placed government official with the Ministry of Human Resource and Development agreed to talk to us.&nbsp;He said that the government does undertake surprise checks, but major hurdles in proper quality check are due to delay in the release of funds by the State government, delay in construction of already approved, kitchen-cum-stores and lack of management structure at State, District and Block levels. 
&nbsp; 
The future of the scheme, which was introduced to kill two birds with one arrow, depends on the serious implementation of the guidelines.&nbsp;Until then, the next time you waste food, think about the 180 million undernourished Indians.

(WION)

The programme is helping to alleviate chronic undernourishment and it encourages school attendance, but how is it operating around India?

By Ruchika Thakur On 29 August, Meena Devi, former principal of a primary school in Dharmasati Gandaman, in the northern Indian State of Bihar, was sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment for the death of 23 children who died after consuming mid-day meal in 2013. She was found guilty under the charge of culpable homicide and criminal negligence for serving a meal of rice and soybeans laced with pesticides by the local court. A total of 47 children had fallen ill after consuming the meal, of which 23 died. A mass graveyard was created outside the school as a reminder of the tragedy. The first mid-day meal in India was implemented in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and is credited with encouraging children to study, thereby improving the literacy rates in the country. It not only improved the literacy rates, but also the nutritional levels. But owing to a number of instances where children have fallen sick after consuming mid-day meal, the responsibility to ensure that the food is edible and nutritious falls on the principal, who tastes the food before it is served to children. Nobody doubts the well-intentioned scheme was started by the government in 1995 first to improve the nutritional levels of children studying in classes I to VIII in a government school and the second to encourage children belonging to disadvantaged backgrounds to attend classes regularly. Moreover, currently, it is being consumed by 100 million children served in 1.15 million government schools, according to government data. But, at least 4,000 kids have fallen sick in the last two years if you collate the media reports of food poisoning due to mid-day meal. Reality Check “The quality is just fine, we mention in the register that food is of average quality,” said Amar Singh, principal-in-charge of Junior High School, Harola. He has kept the sample of the watery Soybean curry and rice in tiffin for us to inspect. Harola, situated some 30 kilometres from the capital Delhi, is one of the schools which does not have provisions of kitchen-cum-stores. It is hidden behind a flock of traders and vendors and is guarded by a huge black gate. Two tall steel food containers are kept in the corridor covered with a quilt. Because of the unavailability of a kitchen-cum-store provision, once the food is delivered, it is either kept in one of the classrooms or in the principal’s cabin. Mid-day meals are either cooked at the schools or they are outsourced to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The Harola School gets ready-to-eat meals cooked by an NGO Dalit Prahari. The school is a perfect right angle, with classes lined along the lines of the angles. “Children don’t have much choice, they get Khichdi (a preparation made of rice and lentils) thrice a week but they have added a fruit and a glass of milk to the weekly menu,’’ Singh added. The school has a total of 478 children studying from class VI to VIII. Sitting behind a desk, he shows us the mid-day meal register which contains the details of how many children ate the meal, what was served to students and the signature of the principal. Teachers Prerna Tomar and Vikhlesh are on mid-day meal duty this month. On being asked about the additional responsibility of serving meals, Tomar said: “Managing mid-day neals is nothing compared to other miscellaneous jobs that the government asks us to do.” But Anoop, a standard VI student, told us, “Very few students eat the meals and it is served by class VII students.” Different areas, different rules We didn’t face many difficulties when we visited the Harola School, but schools in the capital were reluctant to talk to us. Located in the plush locality of Lodhi Road, the NP Co-ed Secondary gets its mid-day deal from Akshay Patra NGO. Arun Bhanot, the Vice Principal proudly shows us the Mid-Day Meal register and tells us that food is only served when the helpers wear gloves, surprise visits are undertaken by the authorities regularly, and parents are invited daily to taste the meal served in school. “There have been instances when we sent back food because we were doubtful of its quality, in such times we buy biscuits for children.” She asked us to visit the next day to see how the food is served, later in the day she called us and asked us to take permission from the Directorate of Education before visiting them. The schools in the capital fall under three different authorities, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and government school. NP Secondary School comes under the jurisdiction of NDMC. It is a difficult task to make the school authorities talk to us about the government scheme. We are met with suspicious stares and asked to come with a written permission from the block officer. We visited a secondary school in Khichripur area. The school resembled a jail with barbed wires and tall walls and a gate which nobody opened even after repeated knocks. We are allowed to enter after much apprehension. But, no sooner had we entered than the Vice Principal asked us to leave, serving of the mid-day meal was in progress and the two containers with food were kept under a Neem tree in the school playground. Lana Whittaker, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, researching India’s mid-day meal scheme in an e-mail exchange said that though mid-day meal can make a significant contribution to the recommended daily intake of calories and protein, and in terms of food groups, cereals and pulses but food is not necessarily implemented as per the guidelines plus the government doesn’t seem to be doing enough to check the quality of food. We visited two more schools, another one in Khichripur and the second one in Anand Vihar. The Principals were reluctant to answer our questions and asked us to get the required permits. Is it a missed opportunity? While the eggs are being replaced by bananas in mid-day meal menu in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Global Hunger Index released a report stating that 15.2% of people in India are undernourished. Whittaker said, “Given the severity of child malnutrition in India, the removal of eggs or the failure to include eggs or an item equivalent in nutritional value is worrying.” Linking the incidence of Tuberculosis disease to undernutrition and urging that non-egg eaters should not impose their beliefs on children, Dr Binayak Sen, a paediatrician, public health specialist and activist said, “There are a large number of people with the incidence of TB disease because there is a connection between the nutritional status of the population and the incidence of TB disease. In India, we don't have an adequate mechanism to deal with the coming TB epidemic affecting the nutrition deficient adult and child population.” Scheme marred by red tape Saying that the scheme is not a charity and that children are entitled to the meal, Whittaker added, “It is the responsibility of a range of actors, including all levels of government, teachers, cooks and NGOs to ensure their duties are fulfilled and the children receive their entitlements. Amongst other things, this includes ensuring schools and NGOs follow the menu, there is adequate infrastructure in schools, money and grain arrives in schools on time, the budget is sufficient to provide a full and nutritious meal and teachers and cooks perform their duties and importantly have the capacity to do so. The idea of the capacity of those at the school level is particularly important. Effective accountability mechanisms also need to be in place to ensure that when these duties are not fulfilled, this can be identified and addressed.” But scheme seems to be entangled in layers of red tape. On the condition of anonymity, a highly placed government official with the Ministry of Human Resource and Development agreed to talk to us. He said that the government does undertake surprise checks, but major hurdles in proper quality check are due to delay in the release of funds by the State government, delay in construction of already approved, kitchen-cum-stores and lack of management structure at State, District and Block levels. The future of the scheme, which was introduced to kill two birds with one arrow, depends on the serious implementation of the guidelines. Until then, the next time you waste food, think about the 180 million undernourished Indians. (WION)

Mid-day meal: 100 million hungry mouths and one scheme

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