Medicines and food go hand in hand in humanitarian aid

By Katie Pace, MAP International

Katie Pace, Communications Officer, MAP International

It’s estimated that 805 million people across the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. That means one in every nine people on our planet go to bed hungry each night. Hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined and nearly 3.1 million children are dying each year from poor nutrition. MAP International is partnering with Stop Hunger Now to drop this staggering death rate.

As a medical aid organization it’s obvious that we are providing antibiotics and emergency relief items in times of crisis, but something that isn’t so obvious is the impact of vitamins on those that are malnourished. Worldwide, over 136,000 women and children die due to iron-deficiency anemia and 450,000 children under five die due to zinc deficiency.

When partnered with fortified food from organizations like Stop Hunger Now, we have the ability to combat both the causes of malnourishment and save more lives. Healthy and nutritious food is essential to a child’s mental and physical development, by providing fortified foods and vitamins we are giving each child the chance to reach their full potential.

The top three ways to resolve the global malnutrition issue is by eating more of better nutritious food, fortifying food staples and vitamin supplements for those who need them most.

MAP International, Dominican Republic. Child is eating Stop Hunger Now meal at a school with a MAP supported clinic.

Stop Hunger Now meets the top two solutions by providing prepacked meals that are nutritiously sound. Every dehydrated rice/soy meal is fortified with 23 essential vitamins and nutrients. By partnering with MAP International, Stop Hunger Now also takes essential vitamins and medicines with them that they can use to provide additional vitamin supplements to the most vulnerable.

Our vitamins provide children in third world countries with the ability to absorb the nutrients from their food, while our medicines treat those that are sick so that they can recover with the help of proper nutrition.

This is why we partner with Stop Hunger Now, together, our medicines and their food are more impactful together. This week, thanks to this partnership, a shipment of 278,000 volunteer packed meals and medical supplies are on their way to impact lives in Honduras.

Stop Hunger Now, Honduras

Stop Hunger Now is driven by the vision of a world without hunger. Their mission is to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable and creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. www.stophungernow.org

MAP International is a global Christian health organization that partners with people living in conditions of poverty to save lives and develop healthier families and communities. www.map.org