For most of us, the word "hunger" is only something that we feel before lunchtime. IT´s hard to imagine that still today this word means blindness, permanent mental or physical deficiency and even death for one in six Earth habitants.
Estimates are that inside five billion of people on the planet there are 815 million that are strongly undernourished, most of them women and children. There are 777 million of famines on underdeveloped countries, more 27 million on unstructured countries as URSS and 11 million on developed countries. So, there is a reasonable chance that some of these people are on your city, or even on your street. "The Hunger Site" (http://www.thehungersite.com/), tells that 24,000 die daily under hunger or deseases related to it.



In Brasil we have around 200 million of people. Estimates are that there are 50 million under extreme poverty, that is, people that survives with less than 1 US$/day and are famines. Five million of them are children. Sixty thousand of these children under one year old die yearly, due on hunger.
Over last years, with economic weakness and growing unemployment, these values grew up. On 90ies, "Citizenship Action Against Misery and for Life", a social movement created by social activist Herbert de Souza, Betinho, brought the hunger problem for the media. Brazilian society begun to organize itself and to participate to solve the problem.

This year, after Lula election, the new brazilian government elected as its priority combat against hunger. Come to light the Hunger Zero Program (Fome Zero) that will act on three lines. There´ll be emergency actions to help poorest families, and actions that will work with civil society help. There´ll be structural actions, to deal with inner reasons for hunger, as the educational déficit and income redistribution. There are 25 integrated actions, that has the goal to help on next four years 45 million of people, or 10 million of families.

One question is how is possible that Brazil has 45 million of famines if it´s one of the biggest world economies and being the world´s third grain producer? One answer is that hunger and poverty are sisters and both of them are bad income distribution daughters. On bad income distribution, Brazil is one of the worst: is only after Sierra Leoa and Centro-African Republic. Here, 10% has 50% of national income. On the top, we have 1% level that gets the same income that 50% poorest people perceive.

See how is brazilian income distribution today:


10% richest has 50% of the income
40% is Medium Class
50% poorest has 10% of the income



10% richest gain a part of US$ 190 per capita/monthly
Meddium class gain between US$ 45 and US$ 190 per capita/monthly
50% poorest gain less than US$ 45 per capita/monthly

This unequal income distribution is a result of brazilian history. It reflects other social historical trouble. For instance, the land property concentration that still exists in Brazil. "Gini" index, used to measure land property concentration, is today 0,8. One is the worst result.

Solve hunger problem necessarily will need emergency actions and food donation. A real solution necessarily will claim a changing on actual situation on brazilian income distribution. As said on a lyric of a brazilian rock group, Titãs, "We dont want only food, We want food, fun and art". Food for body and for the spirit, will mean justice as first dish.

See also:

http://www.feedingminds.org/
Feed mind to end the hunger. This site has a seven languages version and brings a well-organized structure for teachers work with pupils about hunger, its reasons and what can be done.

"The Hunger Site" (http://www.thehungersite.com/)
Site shows a hunger map in the world. Do you want to help? Just click on their link. Sponsors will donate food on each click to help on this poorest regions.

Zero Hunger (http://www.fomezero.org.br/)
This is the official site of brazilian program, explaining all its actions and goals. Only in Portuguese.

CARE (http://www.care.org.br/) Brazilian CARE section site explaining their work against poverty. Good general information and about their projects.

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