Breaking Out the Poverty Trap Essay Example

Breaking Out the Poverty Trap Essay Example Breaking Out the Poverty Trap Paper Breaking Out the Poverty Trap Paper Hunger and lack of food are the main factors contributing to malnutrition. Usually, hunger is prevalent in poverty stricken countries (World Food Programme, 2008, â€Å"Breaking Out the Poverty Trap†). Food is very important for nourishment which is needed to survive in the physical world. In underdeveloped countries, undernutrition is passed down from one generation to another. There is a malnutrition cycle of infants being born underweight because their mothers are also undernourished. Then, as they grow old, their health condition continues to deteriorate because of lack of food and as a result they are more prone to physical and mental problems. This malnutrition cycle persists because of unchanging poor social and economic conditions targeting mostly those living below the poverty line particularly women and children (World Food Programme, 2007, â€Å"Winning the war on Hunger†). More so, in the 800 million people who suffer   constantly from hunger, almost nine out of ten of them die because they are overtaken by poverty in urban slums and far away rural areas (World Food Programme, 2007, â€Å"Winning the war on Hunger†). Also, there are about 5 to 6 million children who die every year due to infections that could have been prevented if they were only healthy.   In fact, â€Å"the weekly child death toll from hunger and undernutrition far exceeds those caused by even the most dramatic natural disasters† (World Food Programme UNICEF, 2006, p.15) On the other hand, â€Å"vitamin and mineral deficiencies† are the ill effects of hunger that can also cause blindness, mental retardation and physical handicap. People who suffer from undernutrition have weakened immune system that makes them more vulnerable to diseases such as   malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and measles. â€Å"A total of 6.5 million children each year and never reach the age of five because hunger leaves them too weak to resist disease† (World Food Programme,2007, â€Å"Winning the war on Hunger†). References World Food Programme. (2008).   Breaking Out the Poverty Trap. Retrieved March 11, 2008,   Ã‚  Ã‚   from wfp.org/food_aid/introduction/index.asp?section=12sub_section=1 World Food Programme. (2007). Winning the war on Hunger.   Retrieved March 11, 2008,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from wfp.org/policies/Introduction/other/index.asp? section=6sub_section=1# World Food Programme UNICEF. (2006). Ending Child Hunger and Undernutrition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Initiative. Global Framework for Action, p.15..