Hunger: How many NGOs does it take to feed the world?

A wonderful resource for more information on world hunger is available here.

There really are a lot of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) working on the hunger issue. They work on nutrition, food aid, food security, agricultural research. They provide hand-outs, hand-ups, participatory research, moral support. They do good work.

Why so many? Well, there are a lot of things to focus on, so it's a good idea to have multiple NGOs working on different issues, right? I don't think so. The various issues are all linked. For example, food prices in Uganda are going up and that's pushing some Ugandans into food insecurity. Why? Because money is pouring into Darfur to feed the hungry, and Sudan isn't producing enough food. The money some NGOs are sending to Darfur is making things harder for other NGOs in Uganda. Wouldn't cooperation be a good idea?

But is the UN (the ultimate in multiple-group cooperation, although not technically an NGO) the answer? Well, that would require the departments within the UN to talk 1) to each other and 2) to other groups. From what I've seen (and I'm young and naive, so I may not have seen this right), the UN departments don't like to communicate outside their own world.

So what is the answer? Well, the HungerWeb is a good start. Start an NGO just to run communications with other NGOs. Get people talking to each other. Know what people are doing where, how it's working (a topic for later), and how it impacts your project.

Until then, have fun searching the double-digit number of free job boards for a specific position. Enjoy observing that the number of people needed in offices is greater than the number of people needed in the field. Streamlining . . .