National governments must ensure national standards and meet global responsibilities. Individual and private voluntary activities make important and creative contributions to ending hunger and poverty in the United States and developing countries, but cannot accomplish a task of this magnitude on their own. The active political participation of citizens including hungry and poor people themselves is needed to ensure that government activities are effective. Many existing programs have worked well to alleviate hunger and poverty, and an engaged public can help make further improvements. An increased number of people face food insecurity in countries in transition from communist rule.
Hunger is endemic and on the rise in Africa.
The largest number of hungry people live in South Asia, but hunger has declined throughout Asia and the Pacific mainly because of effective anti-hunger policies. Hunger in the United States While Bread for the World Institute finds there are fewer hungry people in the world than 25 years ago, hunger continues to plague the industrial countries, especially the United States. Childhood poverty is more widespread in the United States than in any other industrial country, yet this country does less than any industrial government to protect children from hunger. The U.S. government's role in anti-poverty and food assistance programs has grown during much of this century. What Governments Can Do reviews the history of programs currently under attack.