Position Paper: Eradicate Global Hunger

Name of delegate: Nattanit Nam Trakullapphan

Issue: What can we do, as a UN faction, to eradicate global hunger?
Country assigned: South Africa
1. What is current status of the Issue in your country?
Up to now, hunger is considered as a serious issue around the world. According to
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), based on Global Hunger Index
(GHI), the numbers of hunger in most countries are falling. In 2014, it was left with
842 million people going on hunger. The highest hunger levels are in Africa south of
the Sahara and South Asia.
South Africa is a country in a region considered as a highest-number-of-hunger
region, but South Africa has a low GHI scoremeans that few numbers of population
are undernourished. It has a population of more than 53 million people, and one
quarter of people suffer hunger. We call this one-quarter a hidden hunger. Mostly,
women and children are the human face of hunger because of gender inequality. Also,
the high levels of unemployment and low wagesdue to the increasing income
inequality between rich and poor, and between skilled and unskilled workerslead to
famine in South Africa. Thus, hunger and malnutrition play important parts in
perpetuating the cycle of poverty and inequality.
According to Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM), food insecurity affects
in both rural and urban areas. At present, 26% of South Africas population is
experiencing hunger, and an additional 28.3% are at risk of hunger. The largest groups
actually experiencing hunger live in informal area [area developed without
government planning processes]: 32.4% of population in urban informal,
37.0% of population in rural informal areas. Inequality is indicated by the fact that
46% of South African men receive salaries compared with 32% of females, while
more than 27% of women rely on grants than 15% of males. The rate of men hired
and paid is twice to the hired women although some women have to take care their
children and their family because they often give up their meals to ensure that their
children and husbands have something to eat. The unemployment rate currently stands
at 25.4% (23% for men and 27% for women). Thus, inequality means that people at
the bottom are more vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition as they spend a proportion
of their little income on food and other significant supplies.
2. What is your countrys stand on this Issue?
The significant problems of the countries led to the hunger are gender inequality, low
wages for the farmer, unemployment and high-cost goods. The farmers do agriculture
and they were forced to sell their products in very low price. First, the government
should set up the policy for the farmers that limit the minimum price of the sell and
for the market that the product must not be monopolized. Also, they should increase
their goods of selling to increase their income. They are also facing with the drought
and nutrients deficiency of soil. One way to solve the soil problem is to grow peas

after they have planted many times to adjust the minerals in the soil. On the other
hand, building dams to reserve water for plantation in the drought is needed. Second,
the quality of education should be improved. Before completing the school, students
should be given the practical knowledge in at least the industrial field. Moreover,
everyone should be educated. There should be a school for ones who do not have
money to enter school or give them scholarships; to pay back for the tuition fee, after
they finish the school, they work and pay the school back, or they work and study at
the same time. These solutions can also be used in other countries in Africa that have
dry area or below average rainfall.
3. Explain the reason of the stand/s.
The climate of South Africa is very hot and dry that the farmers do not have water to
do their agriculture. If they have reserved water enough throughout the year, they will
have products to sell and that they will have money to spend for their food. Also, the
minimum-fixed cost of their products is needed because they are the merchants or the
rich that forced them to sell theirs in very low cost that not enough for their meals
throughout one month. And if the products in the market are not monopolized, they
will not cost very high and more people can buy them with their income. Building the
embankment does not only help the farmers for their agriculture, but also makes
people to access to foods more because if the farmers can do agriculture, they will
have products to sell to markets and that there will be more food for people to buy.
Food will then be enough for everyone if farmers have job and get paid fairly.

References
IFPRI. (2014). 2014 Global Hunger Index. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/2014-global-hunger-index
IFPRI. (2014). GHI map. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://www.ifpri.org/tools/2014ghi-map
OXFAM. (2014). Hidden hunger in South Africa. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/hidden_hunger_in_s
outh_africa_0.pdf
MercyCorps. (2014). Quick facts: What you need to know about global hunger. Retrieved
March 1, 2015, from https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/quick-facts-what-you-needknow-about-global-hunger