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SINGAPORE STATISTICS- 1 in 10 Singaporeans are unable to meet basic needs in the form of food, clothing, shelter and other essential expenditures.25
- 1 in 3 elderly Singaporeans are not eating right (2011)26
- More than 23,000 children are malnourished in Singapore (2008)27
SINGAPORE CHALLENGEFood poverty is more than the struggle to put food on the table, it is also associated with the inability to obtain healthy, nutritious food. Not only do poor diets affect daily productivity and routines, in the long run, they often lead to illnesses such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.
The Food Bank Singapore, one of the many VWOs tackling hunger issues, reported that 70,000 food rations and 800,000 meals are required monthly for their member beneficiaries 28.
SINGAPORE OPPORTUNITY
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all people – especially children and the more vulnerable – have access to sufficient and nutritious food all year round.23
A large share of the world population is still consuming far too little to meet even their basic needs. Halving per capita global food waste at the retailer and consumer levels is also important for creating more efficient production and supply chains. This can help with food security and shift us towards a more resource efficient economy.24
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GLOBAL STATISTICS- Nearly 800 million or 1 in 9 people are living with hunger, without essential nutrients for proper development and health20
- Over 90 million children under the age of five are dangerously underweight.21
GLOBAL CHALLENGEAs with many issues that are exacerbated by extreme poverty, it’s often the youngest and most vulnerable who are hurt the most. The world’s children are disproportionately affected by food and nutrition shortages. Living with chronic hunger and malnutrition puts children at risk of dying from common colds and infection. And even if children do recover from these diseases, their recovery times are often delayed.
Stunting is even more common than being underweight in the developing world. Globally, 160 million children have inadequate height due to chronic hunger and malnutrition. In the developing world, children from the poorest families fare much worse than those from the wealthiest households; children from the bottom quintile of households are twice as likely to be stunted as those from the top quintile.22
Struggles with poverty and hunger leads to bandwidth poverty, an attention shortage that creates a negative, reinforcing cycle. It is difficult to concentrate at school or at work, when you worry about where your next meal is coming from. Without sufficient cognitive function or “bandwidth” to spend on other tasks that require more thought, low-income families and individuals are more likely to make suboptimal choices that leave them worse off.
GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all people – especially children and the more vulnerable – have access to sufficient and nutritious food all year round.23
A large share of the world population is still consuming far too little to meet even their basic needs. Halving per capita global food waste at the retailer and consumer levels is also important for creating more efficient production and supply chains. This can help with food security and shift us towards a more resource efficient economy.24
