World Hunger: Ehtiopia Recovers From Famine, Politics Not Lack Of Resources Caused Hunger

Ethiopia, the world's biggest hunger affected nation, has been experiencing a remarkable change. Despite that the country is experiencing another harsh drought, it has overcome its catastrophic famine phase and it is no longer the center of deaths due to food scarcity.

As noted in the country's history, the 1980s left Ethiopia a terrible mark as they were able to experience a brutal drought and later followed by famine. All was aggravated by the civil war, leaving at least 600,000 people dead.

According to a report by Vox, executive director of the World Peace Foundation Alex de Waal pointed out that the change was not caused by Ethiopia's resources but politics. With the war over, the government was able to take over, preventing a widespread of famine through its relief programs. de Waal even stated in the New York Times that "famine is elective because, at its core, it is an artifact and a tool of political repression."

The change being experienced by Ethiopia is part of a bigger picture concerning World Hunger. According to the International Food Policy, the numbers of extreme and alarming levels of hunger had dropped and has been in an all-time low since the 1990s.

Ethiopia's decrease in hunger victims reflect the expansion of democracy globally. Democracy has reached its peak by the mid-2000s, which gave the idea that more governments tend to look over their citizens and prevent them from starving.

To continually hinder famine from taking over again, scientists have developed a method for extending raw fruits' and vegetables' shelf life by spraying electrically charged solutions which kills the bacteria that causes the spoilage.  Professor of health and environment at the University of the West of England, Darren Reynolds emphasized that "The approach could reduce waste, save millions of pounds and even play a role in helping resolve world hunger," Mirror Online reported.