International Women's Day - March 8

Monday is International Women's Day, and I've joined a community of bloggers around the world who are blogging about women and hunger as part of a World Food Programme initiative to raise awareness for the one billion people around the world who go to bed hungry every night.

From the WFP website:

"Some 60 percent of the world’s chronically hungry people are women and girls. This is because women often have unequal access to resources, education and income, and because they participate less in decision-making.

And when hunger and undernutrition affect women, they also affect their children. More than 19 million children are born annually with low birth weight, often the result of their mothers receiving inadequate nutrition before and during pregnancy.

Women as solution

In many countries, women form the backbone of the agricultural sector and food systems, making up the bulk of agricultural labourers.They also play a key role in guaranteeing food security for the entire household.

Experience shows that in the hands of women, food is far more likely to reach the mouths of needy children."

What can we do to help?

- Make a donation: 25 cents is all it takes to fill a cup to feed a hungry schoolchild a meal. $16 US dollars buys a 25 kilo sack of rice.
- Play the online game Free Rice, which asks you to define words (improving your vocabulary in a fun way! great for word nerds like me) and donates rice for every word you correctly define.
- Spread the word, through your blog, Facebook, Twitter or other online social group. Click here for more information.