We want to invite you to join us in praying for children in poverty. It's hard to see children suffer, especially from hunger. Please pray for children who needlessly suffer from malnutrition around the world. Pray that individual countries and the international community would have the collective will to address this crisis.
Children and Hunger
Hunger is a term which has three meanings (Oxford English Dictionary 1971)
the uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; craving appetite. Also the exhausted condition caused by want of food
the want or scarcity of food in a country
a strong desire or craving
Children are the most visible victims of undernutrition. Estimate that undernutrition in the aggregate—including fetal growth restriction, stunting, wasting, and deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc along with sub optimum breastfeeding—is a cause of 3·1 million child deaths annually or 45% of all child deaths in 2011. Undernutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, including measles and malaria. The estimated proportions of deaths in which undernutrition is an underlying cause are roughly similar for diarrhea (61%), malaria (57%), pneumonia (52%), and measles (45%). Malnutrition can also be caused by diseases, such as the diseases that cause diarrhea, by reducing the body’s ability to convert food into usable nutrients.
Hunger is also a cause of poverty, and thus of hunger. By causing poor health, small body size, low levels of energy, and reductions in mental functioning, hunger can lead to even greater poverty by reducing people’s ability to work and learn, thus leading to even greater hunger.
Prayers for the End of Hunger
Pray for the poor, hungry, and neglected all over the world, that their cries for daily bread may inspire works of compassion and mercy among those to whom much has been given. Especially the children suffering from hunger, that they receive the food they need to grow and thrive. Pray for all nations and people who have been blessed in the abundance of prosperity, that their hearts may be lifted up to the needs of the poor and afflicted.