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On nutrition: Consider the hungry

January 26, 2010


It feels so trivial to be commenting about the horrific needs of our world neighbors in Haiti while sitting with a hot cup of tea in a house with adequate food in the pantry. Yet this disaster that continues to grip our hearts and minds deserves comment. It has forced me to rethink the small things I often take for granted (like a hot cup of tea and adequate food in the pantry) and to realize how I might be better involved in helping meet the needs of those in desperate situations.

It also reminds me to understand the scope of hunger in our world. While many of us fret over the extra calories in our latte, hunger continue to be a worldwide problem of "staggering proportions," according to a position paper on the subject by the American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org).

According to Food for the Hungry, a worldwide mission organization, 25,000 people die from hunger-related causes every day. And of those, 18,000 are children. Children who are undernourished contribute to nearly a quarter of the health-related deaths we see on this planet, according to the World Health Organization (www.WHO.int).

How do we help? "Strong coordination of health services and supplies is needed to effectively treat thousands of people injured in the January 12 earthquake," says the World Health Organization. For now and long term, here are a few ways we can help relieve some of the hunger and suffering in our world:

Share our resources. Relief organizations like the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org) and Samaritans Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org) need our help to continue to provide food, supplies and workers to those in dire need.

Sponsor a child. Pregnant women and children are the most vulnerable to the devastating lifelong effects of malnutrition, say nutrition experts. They have the highest nutrient needs for growth and the effects of malnutrition can cause permanent physical and mental damage.

Organizations like Food for the Hungry (www.fh.org) and World Vision International (www.wvi.org) rely on our donations to provide ongoing food, clean water, clothes and hygiene kits to children and families rocked by this earthquake and other disasters around the world.

Support the efforts of this great country we are privileged to live in. Reading about our military men and women who are helping with this vast relief effort in Haiti reminds me again why I'm thankful to be an American citizen. Thank you.

Pray. Simplistic approaches are inadequate to meet the overwhelming needs we see for our world neighbors. I pray for the groups and individuals who are doing what they can to help.

 



McClatchy-Tribune Information Services