The fight against hunger and exclusion is a priority for the Polish Red Cross

More than 735 million people worldwide suffer from hunger, according to the latest report prepared jointly by five specialized UN agencies [July 2023]. The number of hungry people has increased by 122 million over the past three years. The world is far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 2030, which was to eliminate hunger.

The main factors causing hunger in the world recently have been armed conflicts, including the conflict in Ukraine, extreme climate conditions threatening agricultural production, and economic difficulties exacerbated by the pandemic.

According to data from the Central Statistical Office, the material situation of households in Poland in 2022, despite an increase in average monthly income, has deteriorated in real terms. The rise in prices caused the household income per person to decrease by 2.6 percent. The extreme poverty rate was 4.7%. Extreme poverty means such a drastically low level of satisfaction of needs that it endangers health and life.

In 2022, nearly 400 thousand children lived in extremely poor families. If this were to be less than 1% of all children, which should be the goal of every government, this number would have to decrease by 327 thousand. In the same year, over 367 thousand children experienced a lack of satisfaction of at least five of thirteen basic needs in their families. This number is still too large by at least 300 thousand. The situation in 2023 may worsen further, as this is the third year of high inflation and lack of indexation of childcare benefits and family allowances. Their real value has significantly decreased, thus offering less protection against poverty and deprivation of basic needs – says Professor Ryszard Szarfenberg, referring to the report Poverty Watch 2023 recently published by EAPN Poland.

Amazon volunteers often join PCK's aid initiatives - company employees engage in logistical activities, such as packing parcels or assembling school supplies.

It's hard to learn and develop with an empty stomach. That's why we responded without hesitation to the invitation of the Polish Red Cross and joined the campaign 'Dignified Childhood'. Our support will take on a very tangible form - allowing us to finance 25,000 meals. Together we can help those who need it most and turn a hungry childhood into a dignified one. We encourage everyone to support the campaign #dignifiedNOhungry – says Barbara Krystosiak, manager of social projects at Amazon in Central and Eastern Europe.

The goal of the latest campaign of the Polish Red Cross is to raise funds for food assistance for children in need and their families. Anyone who wants to help can make any donation by transferring to the account with the number 30 1160 2202 0000 0003 4816 8475 (note: 'Dignified Childhood') or donate online: www.pck.pl/godne-nie-glodne

Online donations #dignifiedNOhungry

One of the priorities of the Polish Red Cross's Strategy 2030 is the fight against hunger and malnutrition. We do not accept that there are still hungry children in Poland and with them in mind, we are launching yet another campaign to raise funds to support these families. We also conduct food collections, distribute food parcels, and provide meals for children in schools. In 2022 alone, over 130 thousand children from needy families received assistance from us in various forms. – says Michał Mikołajczyk, member of the Management Board of the Polish Red Cross.

PCK also offers ongoing assistance to nearly 100 thousand people in need, regardless of age. Beneficiaries receive food parcels as part of the multi-year program of the European Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD 2021+, formerly FEAD 2014 – 2020). Soon, over 600 thousand parcels will be distributed from 14 PCK warehouses.

The girl in the photo above is not real, but hunger is. The image was generated by artificial intelligence because we did not want to reveal the identity of the children.