Tag: Gender inequality

Over 60% of chronically hungry people are women and girls, a stark indicator that food insecurity is profoundly impacted by equality, or more accurately, the lack thereof. Genuine progress towards global food security is fundamentally tied to achieving and sustaining social, economic, and gender equality. A system that functions unequally by design will produce unequal outcomes, creating a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger.

According to the UN, over 768 million people worldwide were affected by hunger in 2021, and 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020. These staggering statistics underscore that nutrition is not merely a personal choice but is heavily influenced by a complex web of socio-economic factors that impact food access, quality, and dietary habits across populations.

Globally, the disparity in food security between men and women reached 4.3 percentage points in 2021, with women facing higher rates of moderate to severe food insecurity. This critical issue goes beyond simple access, exploring how does gender affect food insecurity through complex social, economic, and cultural factors.

According to the World Health Organization, roughly 45% of deaths among children under five years of age are linked to undernutrition, revealing the severity of the issue globally. Beyond the immediate lack of food, understanding the deeper social factors of malnutrition—including poverty, inequality, and systemic issues—is critical to addressing this pervasive public health crisis.

Globally, 60% of the chronically hungry are women and girls, a stark indicator of the significant gender disparities in nutrition. This article explores the root causes, consequences, and potential solutions to this pervasive issue that affects health and well-being worldwide.