Statistics on fundraising commercial...

On the TV station we pick up, there is a commercial for a fundraiser-type thing about sending money to pay for food for children to eat in third world countries. I know that this is a charitable organization, and I understand that there is a problem with world hunger. I would probably even donate, but I wouldn’t have the money to spare (seriously, between the two of us we make just enough to get by) but everytime I see this commercial, I become slightly angry. It seems that they want to play a guilt card by putting something across the bottom of the screen. It says “Tonight, 27000 children will die of hunger and hunger related illnesses” and I’m not sure about the rest.

My question is, how is this number? Extremely accurate? or not?

The only thing I can find on the internet claimed 16000 children per day, and that included diseases like malaria. Is malaria a hunger related illness? It just slightly bothers me, and I imagine that you Dopers will be more knowledgable than me…

Brendon

UN’s World Food Program compiles a variety of statistics (mostly from the Food and Agriculture Organization, another suborganization of the UN) on its website.

And to add to the question, at their low low cost (I remember it used to be $.27 a day per kid), how many kids could they save if they stopped running the commercials?

-Joe