<P> The World Bank itself claimed it was part of the solution to hunger, asserting that the best way for countries to break the cycle of poverty and hunger was to build export - led economies that provide the financial means to buy foodstuffs on the world market . However, in the early 21st century the World Bank and IMF became less dogmatic about promoting free market reforms . They increasingly returned to the view that government intervention does have a role to play, and that it can be advisable for governments to support food security with policies favourable to domestic agriculture, even for countries that do not have a Comparative advantage in that area . As of 2012, the World Bank remains active in helping governments to intervene against hunger . </P> <P> Until at least the 1980s--and, to an extent, the 1990s--the dominant academic view concerning world hunger was that it was a problem of demand exceeding supply . Proposed solutions often focused on boosting food production, and sometimes on birth control . There were exceptions to this, even as early as the 1940s, Lord Boyd - Orr, the first head of the UN's FAO, had perceived hunger as largely a problem of distribution, and drew up comprehensive plans to correct this . Few agreed with him at the time, however, and he resigned after failing to secure support for his plans from the US and Great Britain . In 1998, Amartya Sen won a Nobel Prize in part for demonstrating that hunger in modern times is not typically the product of a lack of food . Rather, hunger usually arises from food distribution problems, or from governmental policies in the developed and developing world . It has since been broadly accepted that world hunger results from issues with the distribution as well as the production of food . Sen's 1981 essay Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation played a prominent part in forging the new consensus . </P> <P> In 2007 and 2008, rapidly increasing food prices caused a global food crisis, increasing the numbers suffering from hunger by over a hundred million . Food riots erupted in several dozen countries; in at least two cases, Haiti and Madagascar, this led to the toppling of governments . A second global food crisis unfolded due to the spike in food prices of late 2010 and early 2011 . Fewer food riots occurred, due in part to greater availability of food stock piles for relief . However, several analysts argue the food crisis was one of the causes of the Arab Spring . </P> <P> The World Hunger Education Service works to educate on the subject matter of world malnutrition, and this group has helped people learn about our world hunger problems . There are also several smaller organizations that work to educate people on poverty in their homes and neighborhoods around the globe . </P>

Approximately what percentage of the worlds population experiences persistent hunger