Głód - wstyd dla bogatego świata? - Famine - shame on the rich world?

According to the World Health Organisation 1,2 billion people were undernourished in the nineties and every year 60 million people die of hunger. The statistics are dramatic. Thousands of people in several regions of the world starve, although, as scientists claim, if food were distributed proportionally, there would be enough for everyone on our planet. But unfortunately while a lot of people in developed countries are suffering from diseases which are connected with excessive consumption, others are dying of hunger. Furthermore, it is said that 10% of the planet's population consume 90% of the resources, while the remaining 90% are left with merely 10% of the resources.

Some of us say that the problem of famine does not concern us because it is the problem of the so-called third-world countries. They do not seem to notice beggars in the streets. Famine disasters are common in the developing countries, where the infrastructure is underdeveloped: there are not any tanks for storing up water. Because of famine lots of people die or develope serious diseases. One of the biggest famines in history affected China in the years 1959-1961, during which 30 million people died.

In many regions of Africa it has not rained for several years, there are hardly any crops and it is not possible to breed animals. What should be done is to give a helping hand! And it does not only mean helping during a famine by supplying the people with food, but helping the developing countries in transforming their economies as well so that they could deal with the problem of drought. It is a great shame that industrialized countries have not done this yet. Every day as more food is wasted, lots of children die of starvation because they were born in poor countries. Moreover, rich countries should write off poor countries' debts.

In conclusion I would like to say that famine is a shame on the rich world and it should be our moral duty to help those who suffer from starvation.

[Arkadiusz Szymczak]