A woman in North Welo region of Ethiopia inspects barley seeds she'll plant if rains come

Photo: Paul Jeffrey ACT/CWS

Hunger and Poverty Alleviation

Hunger affects more than 840 million people worldwide. More than 300 million of these people are in Africa. Hunger is an obstacle to progress: It increases susceptibility to disease, hinders learning, and leaves a person weak and unable to work or meet family needs. This break in self-reliance inhibits developing economies and creates poverty.

Consistent with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, Church World Service works to end hunger and poverty by:

Advocating for trade policies and practices that work for people: Church World Service works to educate and raise awareness of the need for just trade rules and policies that promote economic justice. Even a 1% increase in world exports from Africa would improve incomes and help lift 40 million Africans out of poverty.

Achieving food security: Church World Service emphasizes programs that provide inputs, protect land rights, support nutrition education and food diversification, and value indigenous knowledge.

Supporting rural livelihoods: Over 70% of Africa’s rural people earn their living from the land. Church World Service supports programs which increase opportunities for livelihood growth through improvements in production, the establishment of rural cooperatives, and the creation of employment through skill-building programs.

Improving natural resource management: CWS supports programs that target declining soil fertility, groundwater contamination, and persistent drought. CWS encourages an approach that supports ecosystems and educates farmers about protecting and managing their natural resources.

Promoting women’s empowerment and education for girls: In general, African women shoulder overwhelming responsibilities within their families and communities. Greater efforts toward gender equality are thus a prerequisite for the eradication of poverty and hunger. Church World Service supports programs that provide women with the education, information, and resources they need to make the best decisions regarding the care and well-being of their family, community, and nation.

Training in disaster management and mitigation: CWS emphasizes community-level emergency management training to build local capacity for emergency response and proactive disaster mitigation, strengthening the local ability to provide a broad spectrum of humanitarian assistance.