Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

In Bangladesh, Nazma grew up in a family where she did not always have enough to eat. She often went to school eating nothing more than rice and salt. She was always hungry and found it hard to concentrate. Her parents were worried about her future. Then, with the help of small loans (micro-credit), her family was able to purchase and breed some cows for income. This helped Nazma to successfully finish her schooling. She is now hoping to serve her community by becoming a lawyer.

Target: Reduce by half the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day by 2015.

Every day, 30,000 people die from hunger and poverty. In countries where hunger is most widespread, one in seven children will die before the age of five (FAO 2002).

Hunger and poverty go hand in hand. If you are poor, then you will struggle to have enough nutritious food to eat. This can leave you feeling weak and vulnerable to disease. Then, if you are sick or undernourished, you are less likely to get to school and will find it hard to concentrate, learn and work. You will be more likely to continue to live in poverty and hunger.

There were 815 million hungry people in the developing world in 2002 - 9 million less than in 1990 (MDG Progress Report). However, while progress has been made in countries like China and India, hunger and poverty have increased in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a region affected by poor soil, natural disasters and ongoing conflicts between and within nations.

Aid and development organisations like World Vision help communities ensure sufficient food supplies by:

1. helping farmers develop farming techniques that mean they can consistently produce good crops without going into debt or exhausting their local environment.
2. quickly providing and distributing food supplies in times of critical food shortage or famine.
3. supporting families in taking up other income- generating activities like setting up a small business.
4. supporting farmers in developing countries by seeking fairer trading rules. This includes lobbying organisations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reduce agricultural subsidies, including to farmers in the USA and Europe.