Funky facts

Around 800 million people in the world don't get enough to eat.

There is enough food in the world to feed everyone, plus a further three billion people.

Eight out of ten children in the world who don't have enough to eat live in countries that produce more than enough food.

Why are so many people hungry?

Many people in poor countries grow their own food. They sell any extra food at the market to earn money. Their crops do well if there is enough water and sunshine at the right times. But if there's no rain for a long time – called a drought – crops won't grow. Too much rain can cause a flood and wash young plants away. If crops don't grow, people have nothing to eat and nothing to sell, so they go hungry.

Bad weather isn't the only problem

Angola in Africa has lots of land where crops grow easily. It has diamonds and oil that could be used to make the country richer. But half a million people are starving, because for the last 27 years there has been a civil war. Rebel forces have been fighting against the government.

It is hard to grow crops because of all the fighting. In many towns there is no electricity or running water and the houses have been destroyed. The war has now ended but there is a lot of work to do to get the country going again. And the people need food.

In Malawi, in Africa, lots of people are ill with the disease HIV/AIDS. In times of food shortage, everyone in the family is needed to hunt for food. Some people with HIV/AIDS are too weak to help, but they still need to eat. And when people are really ill, one of their relatives needs to stay at home to look after them, so they can't help either.

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