an - action against hunger | acf-usa · environmental disasters have left afghanistan with...

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CITY, STATE

SPONSORSHIP GOAL

www.actionagainsthunger.org/race

AFGHANISTAN

Students Race Against Hunger

What are hunger and malnutrition?

Scope of hunger and malnutrition in the world

What is Action Against Hunger?

Action Against Hunger world map

How your money helps

Case Study: Afghanistan

Preparing for the Race Against Hunger

Tips on seeking sponsors

Sponsor form

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Contents

ACTion AgAinST HUnger | 1

How You Will Help End Global Hunger

STudENTS racE aGainst HunGEr!

What are Hunger and Malnutrition? in order to help fight global hunger, you should first know what hunger means.

Learn about global hunger and how to fight it.

Raise awareness about global hunger in your community and seek sponsors for your Race Against Hunger.

Participate in your school’s Race! The proceeds you raise will help save the lives of malnourished children around the world.

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Results from the persistent intake of less than the daily amount of calories your body needs to be nourished and active.

A broad term for a wide range of conditions that hinder good health, caused by an inadequate or unbalanced food intake. While we tend to associate malnutrition with under-nutrition, or lack of food intake, malnutrition also includes over-nutrition, or the consumption of too much food. Obesity is a form of malnutrition.

Hunger

Malnutrition

The absolute unavailability or inaccessibility of food in a given region, possibly causing imminent death.

Famine

A situation during which all people, at all times, have access economically, socially and physically to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that satisfies their nutritional needs and dietary preferences.

Food security

2 | race against hunger // PASSPORT

Hunger and Malnutrition Approximately 1.02 billion people around the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

An overwhelming majority of the world’s hungry reside in the developing world.

Every day, almost 15,000 children die from hunger-related causes.

19 million children under the age of 5 suffer from severe acute malnutrition, which, if left untreated, can lead to death.

More than 60% of the world’s chronically hungry are women.

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2009

Water, sanitation and Hygiene

More than 1 billion people lack access to a safe supply of drinking water.

2.2 billion people, or a 1/3 of the world’s population, do not have access to basic sanitation facilities; 1.2 billion of these people have no facilities at all.

Water-related diseases are one of the leading causes of disease and death in the world.

The average American individual uses 100 to 176 gallons of water each day. The average African family uses about 5 gallons of water each day.

Source: Water Partners International

SCOPE Of HuNGER ANd MALNuTRITION IN THE WORLd

Water-related diseases are one of the leading causes of disease and death in the world.


WHAT IS ACTION AGAINST HuNGER?

Action Against Hunger | ACF-USA works to save the lives of malnourished children while providing families with access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger. Working in some 40 countries, ACF’s humanitarian interventions provide lasting solutions to nearly 5 million people a year, restoring dignity, self-sufficiency, and independence to vulnerable populations throughout the world.

Our food security programs prevent future outbreaks of malnutrition by helping communities rebuild their food self-sufficiency.

Our water, sanitation and hygiene programs include extending services to communities faced with water scarcity, unsafe drinking water, and poor hygiene. depending on the context, we truck water into affected communities during emergencies, decontaminate wells, install hand-pumps, and build latrines, among other projects.

Our nutrition programs treat and prevent acute malnutrition for those most vulnerable, particularly children. The programs are launched most often during times of crisis—when an earthquake devastates a city, when civil war tears apart a country, when drought leads to famine, when families flee violence only to confront hunger.

Water, sanitation

and Hygiene

Food security and Livelihoods

nutrition

Our Main Programs

Our Missioneradicate acute malnutrition, roll back global hunger, strengthen the most vulnerable, and restore independence and self-sufficiency to families in need.


ACTION AGAINST HuNGER MAP

Where action against Hunger Works WorldwideCan you locate each country on the map?

africa

Angola

Burkina faso

Central African Republic

Chad

democratic Republic of the Congo

Ethiopia

Guinea

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Malawi

Mali

Mauritania

Niger

Sierra Leone

Sudan

Somalia

Swaziland

uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

americas

Argentina

Bolivia

Colombia

Ecuador

Guatemala

Haiti

Nicaragua

Paraguay

Peru

asia

Afghanistan

Azerbaijan

Bangladesh

Georgia

Indonesia

Laos

Mongolia

Myanmar

Nepal

North Caucasus

Philippines

Sri Lanka

Syria

europe

Armenia

middle-east

Lebanon

Palestinian Territories


Can provide an oven, ingredients, tools, and training for a woman to start a bakery and generate income for her family, giving them access to a balanced diet, health care, and school.

HOW YOuR MONEY HELPS

$5

$15

$35

$50

$100

Can supply a lemon, banana, mango, or orange tree to a farming family incorporating fresh fruit into their diets, preventing soil erosion and desertification, and providing shade. (desertification is the expansion of the arid desert due to climate change.)

Could provide two under-nourished children with supplementary foods for one month to prevent malnutrition and promote healthy development.

Can provide a hand pump for clean drinking water in Laos.

Could provide the 30-day nutritional treatment necessary to save the life of a severely malnourished child in a therapeutic feeding center.

david and Kaifa suffering from severe acute malnutrition after years of civil conflict in Sierra Leone.

david and Kaifa after 30 days in Action Against Hunger’s nutrition center.

Before after


aFGHanistan

Geography and Climate:Afghanistan is a small, land-locked country in South Asia bordered by Pakistan to the east, Iran to the west, and Turkmenistan, uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north. With an area slightly smaller than that of Texas, Afghanistan has an arid to semi-arid climate with cold winters and hot summers. The Hindu Kush Mountains separate northern Afghanistan from the rest of the country.

Modern History:Afghanistan was granted independence from the British Empire in 1919. After a brief period of democracy, the government was overthrown in 1973 and again in 1978. In 1979, the Soviet union backed the new communist regime with resources and financial support. This relationship sparked a war between the Soviet-backed government and opposing mujahedin rebels which would last the next 22 years.

In 1989, the Soviet union withdrew forces from Afghanistan leaving Mohammad Najibullah and a Soviet-supported government in place in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. fighting continued between Najbullah supporters and mujahedin rebel factions.

When the Soviet union fell in 1991, Najibullah’s government was severely weakened. In 1994, the government in Kabul was overthrown, and for the next two years Afghanistan was ungoverned until the Taliban, a Pakistani-sponsored group, took over in 1996. Seeking to replace anarchy with order and rid the country of regional warlords, the Taliban practiced Islamic Sharia law and sought to rule the country based on strict religious code.

until late 2001, the Taliban ruled about 90% of Afghanistan, yet was unrecognized as the legitimate government of Afghanistan throughout the international community. following the September 11, 2009 attacks

AfGHANISTAN CASE STudY


on the u.S., an anti-Taliban alliance formed between the u.S., Britain and groups from northern Afghanistan. Accused of harboring terrorists including Osama bin Laden, the Taliban government met strong resistance from the anti-Taliban alliance as well as from opposing factions within Afghanistan. This continued confrontation eventually led to the collapse of the Taliban at the end of 2001.

In 2001, the united Nations-sponsored Bonn Conference established a process for political reconstruction that included a new Afghanistan constitution, presidential elections in 2004 and the installation of a National Assembly, a central lawmaking body to govern Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai was declared the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan in 2004, and the National Assembly was put in place in december of 2005.

Even though the new constitution was an important step towards political stability, regional conflicts and a continued Taliban presence in the country remain serious challenges for the Afghanistan government.

(Continued on following page)

Location: South Asia

President: Hamid Karzai

Government: Islamic Republic

Capital: Kabul

Official Languages: Afghan Persian or dari and Pashto

Population: 28.4 million

Climate: Arid to semi-arid; cold winters and hot summers

Life Expectancy: 44.64 years

Adult Literacy Rate: 28%

Area: 652.230 km²

Basic Facts

Source: CIA Fact Book, 2009; UNICEF, 2007

Afghanistan

Ghor Pakistan

dai-Kundi

Water & Sanitation

Nutrition

Our Programs

food Security

Health

Kabul


Humanitarian Situation:due to 25 years of conflict, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is dire, with more than 5 million people dependent on humanitarian aid each day and approximately 4 million Afghan refugees currently living in Pakistan and Iran. 60% of children under the age of 5 are malnourished, 32% of the population does not have access to sanitary water, and 71.9% of the population cannot read or write. A majority of the country currently lives on less than one dollar per day. due to limited possibilities for economic development, the reconstruction process has been slow and the political system and infrastructure remain unstable. In recent years, with frequent attempts by the Taliban to regain control in Afghanistan, there has been an increase in armed conflict and political instability

Years of successive drought and other environmental disasters have left Afghanistan with inadequate resources. In southern Afghanistan, 80% of the “kareze,” underwater aqueducts used for irrigation, have dried up. due to changing climate patterns the land is becoming drier and less fertile, making it much more difficult for farmers to raise livestock and cultivate crops. Many farmers are being driven to cultivate poppy, which has proven strong against drought, but offers no nutritional value. Given that 80% of the country’s 28.4 million people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture, the country’s nutritional issues are being further compounded as drought continues to devastate crops.

Earthquakes, avalanches and floods are also common environmental disasters in Afghanistan, destroying infrastructure and taking lives each year. Most recently, there was an earthquake 90 kilometers from Kabul which registered

a 5.5 on the magnitude scale; 22 people were killed, 30 injured, and over 200 homes destroyed. Political instability and natural disasters continue to plague Afghanistan, leaving the humanitarian situation unstable.

Source: IRIN News, 2009

Action Against Hunger’s Presence in AfghanistanIn 1979, Action Against Hunger | ACf-uSA was founded to respond to the emergency in Afghanistan during the civil war between the Soviet-back government and opposition rebel groups. Security concerns led to a brief hiatus in ACf’s Afghanistan programs after the 1979 crisis, but programs reopened in 1995 and ACf has had a continued presence in the country since.

nutritionACf detects and treats acute, severe and moderate malnutrition by taking care of children in nutritional centers.

food security & livelihoodsIn order to support agricultural production and the diversification of sources of income for families, ACf implements food security programs such as the distribution of seeds, fertilizers and tools to prepare the land for the winter months and revenue-generating activities in urban areas.

Water, sanitation & hygieneTo provide increased accessibility to drinking water in communities, ACf constructs and rehabilitates wells and reservoirs. ACf staff members also work with communities to construct latrines and organize hygiene education sessions.

Continued from previous page


important talking pointsGlobal hunger and malnutrition claim the lives of approximately 5 million children a year. Action Against Hunger | ACf-uSA is an international aid organization working to save the lives of malnourished children and to prevent malnutrition altogether.

the Race Against Hunger aims to raise awareness about the scourge of global hunger and to encourage students and communities to be a part of the solution.

89 cents of every dollar raised will directly benefit ACf’s life-saving work around the world.

no donation is too little! Each dollar raised goes a long way in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. (See page 7: “How your money helps”.)

Donations are tax-deductible.

PREPARING fOR THE racE aGainst HunGEr!

no donation is too little!

Donations are tax-deductible.

tips for seeking sponsorsThe money you raise for the Race Against Hunger will go a long way in saving the lives of malnourished children around the world. Here are some tips for seeking sponsors for your Race:

approach people you know and trust. family members make enthusiastic sponsors!

neighborhood businesses and restaurants are great potential sponsors.

seek sponsors from your community/youth group or place of worship.

Don’t seek sponsors in neighborhoods you are unfamiliar with.

sponsors can pledge a certain amount of money for each lap you run (i.e. $2/lap), or they can make a flat donation.

if your sponsor is writing a check, make sure the check is made out to “action against Hunger”.

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uidestar. All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law

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