Can we end world hunger once and for all?

Between 2019 to 2020, 161 million people were hungry. This hunger is not the kind you feel when you want a quick snack or between lunch and dinner. It is prolonged distress caused by a lack of food. Unfortunately, it is one of the realities in our world. From food production to distribution, the wheel of nutrition is not moving as fast as it should be moving. The world needs a solution, fast! World hunger is a significant challenge that eradicating it is number two on the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals. Reports show that since 2014, the number of undernourished people has been on the rise. If we are not proactive, the United Nations’ plan for zero hunger by 2030 might be unachievable. While we sleep on our comfortable beds, 640 million or 8.9% of the world population sleep hungry. The most affected countries are Sierra Leone, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Timor-Leste, Korea, and Nigeria. War, natural disasters, economic crises, and the most recent COVID-19 have worsened the situation. How can we tame the hunger monster? Many humanitarian organizations such as USAID have made efforts to end world hunger. Some of which include improving agriculture, raising awareness on health and nutrition, women empowerment, and good governance. Some NGOs went as far as seeking legislation and help from the government in some countries. The Philippines created a special task force to address their hunger problems and achieve food security. Zimbabwe implored higher institutions of learning to educate the populace on the benefits of agriculture. The Kofi Annan Foundation advocates the transformation of African agriculture to ensure food and nutrition security for all by mobilizing leadership and high-level commitment. Nigeria had its food sufficiency initiatives, one of which is Operation feed the nation, which was launched during the military regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976. Despite these brilliant initiatives, there is a lot to be done. Solving the world hunger problem requires innovation that can scale globally. Elon Musk, a great multi-industry disruptor, and billionaire challenged the UN recently. He promised to release 6 billion dollars to eradicate global hunger if the UN could share with him a fail-proof plan to end world hunger. Being an innovator, Elon knew problems like this require a new approach that can deliver tremendous and unmatched results compared to what was obtainable in the past. Such a solution will be a product born out of great determination to end the hunger problem once and for all. The ultimate solution to world hunger is not in giving people or nations food aids; it is in teaching them how to grow their food sustainably. Donor dollars spent over many years on food, though helped in some way have not global food shortages, it is time to try another approach. Food aids might not be eradicated completely due to humanitarian crises, but there is enough proof that food security is achievable. If you give a person fish, they will most likely return to you for more. However, if you teach them the art of fishing instead, you have provided a lifelong solution to their hunger. We have nations like Israel in the middle east that have achieved food sufficiency. How did they do it? How did a country in the middle east desert grow their food? What nations that suffer from hunger need are the transfer of knowledge, skills, and expertise from nations that have achieved food sustainability. If you feed the mind, the mind will feed the body. Countries with abundant food have highly effective and efficient food value chains. They also have proven steps to achieving food security. All these can be replicated to fit the peculiarity of nations where hunger thrives. The introduction of a 2006 report by Ifpri.org captures this point succinctly. It states: Experts are increasingly aware that efforts to promote development and improve food security in developing countries cannot succeed in the long run without well-qualified local individuals and institutions to provide the right incentives for, motivate, and manage these efforts. Building this local capacity is now seen as an essential task for governments and international agencies, but it is challenging. It is high time the UN, concerned nations, and agencies build on this awareness by investing or increase investment in building local capacity for countries that have food shortage problems. The best way to achieve and scale this local capacity building for overcoming food shortages might be the fail-proof plan Elon is waiting for. Building local capacity will require some form of mentorship. Mentorship is critical because it is one of the best means to transfer knowledge and build capacity. Mentorship allows for ongoing support, guidance, and accountability. It will ensure that funds and resources are used properly and accounted for. In partnership with all concerned parties and stakeholders, global experts in food security and agricultural experts from advanced nations can be recruited into a global mentorship program for food security and deployed to countries that need help. They will mentor farmers, extension agents, and scientists. That way, countries with food challenges will be empowered to take their destinies in their own hands. The mentorship program can start at national level for large scale farmers, then flow down to communities, organizations, groups, and individuals. According to Global Hunger Index, the world’s 10 hungriest country in 2021 are Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, Yemen, and Somalia. Food aids and other efforts aimed at food insecurity though plausible is not the ultimate solution. A hungry 161 million people will get a chance to have foods in their mouths if all concerned organizations, agencies and the UN invest in programs that builds capacity for food security among nations that have food problems. Global food security and agriculture experts like Richard Choularton, Ruth Oniang, Catherine Nakalembe, and Maïmouna Sidibe Coulibaly can mentor farmers, extension workers, researchers and other key stakeholders so they can champion food security initiatives in their countries. This approach will give us the opportunity to end world hunger, once and for all. David Osiri (A.K.A. Mr. Mentormorphosis), Mentorship Awareness Ambassador david@davidosiri.com +234 802 147 1061