Day 62 – Q 3. There are many international organisations and programmes that work for the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Can you discuss at least three of them? Also, discuss their mandate and objectives. 

3. There are many international organisations and programmes that work for the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Can you discuss at least three of them? Also, discuss their mandate and objectives. 

कई अंतरराष्ट्रीय संगठन और कार्यक्रम हैं जो अत्यधिक गरीबी और भूख के उन्मूलन के लिए काम करते हैं। क्या आप उनमें से कम से कम तीन पर चर्चा कर सकते हैं? इसके अलावा, उनके जनादेश और उद्देश्यों पर चर्चा करें।

Demand of the question:

It expects candidates to write about at least 3 International organisations and programmes which work to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger. It also expects to discuss about their mandates and objectives.

Introduction:

Poverty and hunger are closely linked, those who live in poverty are likely to suffer from hunger or malnutrition. Poverty and hunger are often caused by lack of education, employment and healthcare.

Body: 

As poverty and hunger are closely linked, many of the organisations are working in the direction to achieve the target of eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. The organisations and programmes include, Oxfam International, The Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development, Food and Agricultural organisation, United Nations World Food Programme etc. Their detailed work and along with mandate and objectives are mentioned below: 

Oxfam International:

• Oxfam International is a global development organization mobilizing the power of people against poverty.
• It serves as an international confederation consisted of 19 organizations that work together with local communities in around 90 countries.
• When crisis occurs, Oxfam International helps rebuild livelihoods and works to find innovative and practical solutions for people to end their poverty.
• Oxfam International fights for a world in which an opportunity is not a privilege, but a right for everyone and in which human rights can be claimed.
• At the core of the organization’s work is working with partner organizations, as well as with vulnerable women and men to end the injustices that cause poverty.
• It also conducts campaigns to raise the voices of poor on local and global agendas to influence decisions that affect them.
• During the last two years, Oxfam International worked directly with 22.3 million people across the world and provided immediate relief in times of crisis.

The Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development:

• The Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development (OPAD) is an international NGO that actively works on poverty alleviation by promoting human rights, sustainable development and climate change.
• The vision of the organization is to “improve the standard of living of all people by recognizing them as resources and not as victims.
• OPAD acts internationally by offering a variety of services directed towards eradicating poverty.
• The organization implements many projects of poverty eradication in developing countries by using tools such as education, economic development, health promotion and income redistribution.
• It also advocates for equal rights to economic resources amongst men and women and works with small-scale food producers, such as women, indigenous groups, family farmers and pastoralists, to improve their income and sources of livelihood.
• It supports local initiatives by promoting self-reliance amongst women, men and youth in poor countries.

Food and Agricultural Organisation:

• The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
• Established in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has its headquarters in Rome, Italy.
• It was founded with a goal to provide food security for everyone and assure that people will have access to high-quality food in sufficient quantities to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
• Every year, the FAO publishes a number of major ‘State of the World’ reports related to food, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and natural resources.
• Helping Governments and Development Agencies coordinate their activities which are targeted to develop and improve agriculture, fisheries, forestry and other water and land resources.
• Conducting research and providing technical assistance to various projects related to improving agricultural output and development.
• The FAO also brings out a number of publications/reports, some of which are, the State of the World, the Global Report on Food Crises, the State of Food and Agriculture, the State of the World’s Forests, etc.

United Nations World Food Programme:

• Assisting almost 100 million people in around 83 countries each year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.
• As the international community has committed to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030, one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat. Food and food-related assistance lie at the heart of the struggle to break the cycle of hunger and poverty.
• WFP’s efforts focus on emergency assistance, relief and rehabilitation, development aid and special operations. Two-thirds of our work is in conflict-affected countries where people are three times more likely to be undernourished than those living in countries without conflict.

One of the cause of hunger is poverty. It is a global social issue. As per the Asian Development Bank‘s figures In India, 21.9% of the population lives below the national poverty line in 2011. The SDGs aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all people–especially children–have sufficient and nutritious food all year. 

Conclusion:

According to the most recent estimates, in 2015, 10 percent of the world’s population or 734 million people live in poverty. The reasons for poverty are manifold. However, a harmonious collaboration of government initiatives and the organisations and programmes which work for eradication of extreme poverty and hunger will yield better results in future if both strive in one direction to achieve the targets of SDG 1 and 2.