Improving food security action medeor

Hunger makes you ill

What and how much we eat and drink has a major impact on our health and well-being: People who don't get enough to eat or can only eat a very one-sided diet are much more susceptible to illness. In addition, the already weakened body has fewer options to fight the illness in the event of illness. This means that simple infections can even be fatal in an emergency.

All over the world, far too many people are still exposed to this risk: After many years of progress in the fight against hunger, this development has almost come to a complete standstill. People in South Asian countries and in sub-Saharan Africa, where hunger has actually increased in recent years, are particularly hard hit.

Strong malnutrition in childhood leads to stunted physical and mental development. The immune system is weakened. The body has nothing with which to fight off illness.

action medeor in the fight against hunger

action medeor is actively involved in the fight against hunger in several countries. Somalia, for example, is one of the poorest countries in the world. The country is plagued by political conflicts, terror and poverty. Somalia also suffers enormously from the consequences of climate change, which manifest themselves in droughts and floods. The consequences: There is a lack of crops due to the prolonged drought. The grazing land for the animals is also drying out. When it does rain, it rains so much that all crops are destroyed. 1.8 million Somali children are malnourished. 

This is how action medeor is working in Somalia and other crisis regions to combat hunger and ensure a healthy life for those affected:

• Training courses enable smallholder farmers to use more weather-resistant cultivation methods, combat pests more effectively, make their fields more disaster-proof and thus secure crop yields
• Mobile teams investigate and diagnose malnutrition in children and provide them with high-calorie food, for example. Particularly severe cases are referred to special nutrition centers.
• By setting up irrigation systems, fields can also be irrigated in times of drought.
• In addition, action medeor supports smallholder farmers in growing food by distributing seeds, farming equipment and livestock.
• Water catchment areas and waterproof harvest barrels protect fields and crops from rainfall.