Is World Hunger really a "problem"?

[TheTruth]

I do actually agree with the OP 100%. I know it sounds like a cruel thing to say, but.. Why would a family plagued by poverty and chronic starvation willingly bring a child into the world only for said child to also be afflicted from the aforementioned problems?

[t0night]

Simply funding development programmes that deliver results e.g reliable crops/ clean water access would help massively with this problem. Chucking food/money for food at poor countries doesn't work - the money either runs out eventually or goes to the relevant govt/dictator to be spent on other things.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-24753802- we give aid to India and they decide to spend £210m on a statue rather than their own people

http://fee.org/freeman/the-sorry-record-of-foreign-aid-in-africa/

 

Oh no what is common sense, if I can't feed 3 children should I really have a fourth? Yes it may be a human right to have as many children as you want but sometimes it simply isn't feasible.

the india example is interesting. i can see a debate about what things a country should prioritise and when; at what point is it acceptable to start spending on non 'essentials' and instead build or buy things which do function on some level to help create the nation on a conceptual level.

 

also in many less developed countries having more children is beneficial because it means more money is brought in because they work, or more work gets done and more crops are yielded, or whatever. it's not a straightforward thing like 'this will only bring us harm and pain' kind of decision.

[Teeny Tiny Cat]

Maybe when there aren't people living below the poverty line in both the US and UK, we can start shaking fists at them darn Indians. Poverty is a structural problem, not an individual one. It's funny how people are able to recognize that when looking at other countries (govts spending aid money poorly) but can't see it when it comes to their own.

[Professional Map Painter]

Maybe when there aren't people living below the poverty line in both the US and UK, we can start shaking fists at them darn Indians. Poverty is a structural problem, not an individual one. It's funny how people are able to recognize that when looking at other countries (govts spending aid money poorly) but can't see it when it comes to their own.

Which govt gives out the aid money? Money that could be used to provide training/apprenticeships/welfare etc

[Teeny Tiny Cat]

Er what? I don't understand how your post relates to mine.

[t0night]

Er what? I don't understand how your post relates to mine.

he's saying that UK aid money is a waste too because we still have poverty here

 

i think

 

which is counter to his initial point anyway

 

so maybe not, but i can't make any other inferences

[Teeny Tiny Cat]

Ah, I see what you mean.

 

I'd personally say that cutting our "defense" budget or properly enforcing corporation tax or any number of other things would be a much better way to pump some money into welfare, education and the NHS than cutting foreign aid (which is a much, much lower spend), but hey.

[Professional Map Painter]

Ah, I see what you mean.

 

I'd personally say that cutting our "defense" budget or properly enforcing corporation tax or any number of other things would be a much better way to pump some money into welfare, education and the NHS than cutting foreign aid (which is a much, much lower spend), but hey.

 

More unemployed (ex) soldiers + scaring off businesses (yes the tax should be enforced, but this may also lead to companies taking their operations elsewhere, so it's a double edged sword) vs only sending foreign aid to those who will use it to benefit their citizens. Besides, money spent on destroying ISIS bases in Syria via air strikes and arming the Kurds is for a good cause in the long run - a stable Middle East. If we were to do nothing, then as in 1914, 1939 and 1953, the problem would only get worse by ignoring it. Pumping money into the NHS without sorting out its atrocious management would also be a waste - if the NHS can be reorganised so that it doesn't haemorrhage money then it's worthy of increased funding as the funds will actually be used efficiently.

 

he's saying that UK aid money is a waste too because we still have poverty here

 

i think

 

which is counter to his initial point anyway

 

so maybe not, but i can't make any other inferences

 

It's only a waste when the country it is being sent to doesn't use it correctly. We're not in the best financial position currently, and if we get ourselves out of this mess then helping others becomes easier.

[Teeny Tiny Cat]

Defense spending =/= airstrikes on syria alone.

 

Agree about the mismanagement of the NHS. Removing a huge chunk of middle-management and employing more clinical managers would make a huge difference. It's hardly surprising that people who have no idea how the system works don't know how to run it effectively. General bad management at all levels and ridiculous illogical constraints. My job is a perfect example - I get paid a premium to work short-notice, on call, etc, filling in on short-staffed wards all over my trust as and when I'm needed (and there are enough hours required for me to work well above full time if I so choose.) When I say a premium I really mean it - I am paid 3-4 times what a substantive staff member is paid, sometimes more. Why? Because there's no budget for hiring more staff, and employing agency and short-term workers comes out of a different budget!

 

Getting a bit off topic here but yeah.

[Chilled Soda]

Global Warning and the change in Earths climate is the top issue.

[Space Jesus]

I think Water access (primarily sanitary) is a bigger issue. Some places have water for crops, but not clean enough for drinking so they are royally screwed.

[Emmy!]

-snip-

Keeping in mind that inequality is still a thing. We aren't worried about resources necessarily, but the distribution of them. If resources were allocated equally, I'm pretty sure there's enough for everyone. With the idea of money and differing situations, some people can afford to get more than what's 'enough'. That's why poorer countries suffer famine and richer countries eat buffets. Not disagreeing, I'm just expanding on your point.

[♠Derpeh♤]

Money that could be used to provide training/apprenticeships/welfare etc

 

Whilst this is true the main problem today and partly due to overpopulation is that we have far to many students and/or people with a degree all looking for an intern/training. Taking engineering for example, practically everywhere in the world there is a shortage of skilled engineers however we have thousands of "new" engineers trying to enter the market however most companies opt to simply hire someone over seas or pay extra. The reason being is that it's far more cost effective to hire someone immediately than to spend a large amount of time and resources on students/trainees who then might decide they will leave for a better company...etc

[Lmf]

Not for you, but for plenty of other people out there, its a struggle to obtain food. As a country of made up of capitalists, and practically the whole world in fact, its hard to really fund the food distribution, and most think of themselves. In the bigger picture, the greed of humans is the problem imo. 

[sulker]

African kids...One child policies are awful and didn't work out for China, why would they work out anywhere else?

puddingkip, don't be ridiculous.

 

When China's one-child policy was implemented in 1979, its birth rate was at around 2.8 per woman.  By the early 2000s it had decreased by nearly twofold to roughly 1.6 per woman.  Africa's average birth rate, on the other hand, is 4+, even reaching 6 per woman at one point, and doesn't show any significant improvement.  I'm not sure why you are clumping Africa together with China when they are presently in very different situations.

 

The problem is not whether birth control policies work or not: they clearly do.  It's how it's applied that really matters.

 

The world needs governments that can efficiently create a welfare state that takes care of poor people, but does not chase away profitable businesses; that maintain a healthy birth rate in order to check unhealthy population growth; and states that educate their population to create an advanced workforce that will generate higher incomes and therefore reduce poverty and hunger.  

 

And this needs to happen on a global scale.