Hunger gap in Africa is widening every minute

In 2018, more than eight million people in Ethiopia, five million in Malawi, four million in Zimbabwe and three million in Kenya were affected by acute food insecurity caused by issues relating to the climate crisis.

Africa could have one billion undernourished, malnourished and hungry children and young people by 2050 if current levels continue unabated. More than half of African countries are currently off course to meet targets required in the African regional nutrition strategy (2015-2025). Just nine countries will meet the target of reducing stunting by 40% by 2025.

Despite extensive global economic growth in recent decades, including in some of the poorest countries in Africa, millions of people remain locked in a vicious cycle of hunger and poverty. Poverty means parents can't feed their families with enough nutritious food, living children malnourished. Malnutrition leads to irreversibly stunted development and shorter, less productive lives. Less productive lives mean no escape from poverty.

Conflict and the climate crisis have exacerbated child hunger in Africa, with three out of four of the continent’s stunted children under the age of five living in countries turned into war zones. In areas experiencing protracted conflicts, the rate of undernourishment in children is about two to three times higher.

Women and girls, along with children from poor and rural backgrounds, suffer the most from hunger. In some countries, stunting rates are twice as high among rural children as among their urban counterparts

Annually, child hunger costs Ethiopia 16.5% of its GDP. The rate for Rwanda is 11.5%. For every dollar invested in reducing stunting, there is a return of about $22 (£17) in Chad, $21 in Senegal, and $17 in Niger and Uganda, and if the investment is made early in the child’s life, the return rates can be even higher: up to $85 in Nigeria, $80 in Sudan and $60 in Kenya.

A child dies every three seconds globally due to food deprivation – 10,000 children every day – but although figures show an improvement in child hunger at a global level, it is getting worse in some parts of Africa, where the problem is largely a question of political will.

Nine out of 10 African children do not meet the criteria for minimum acceptable diet outlined by the World Health Organization, and two out of five don’t eat meals regularly. Liberia, Congo and Chad are at the bottom of the chart when it comes to children aged six to 23 months receiving sufficient and diverse food with a healthy frequency. They are followed by Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Many African countries are even becoming more food insecure. The sustainable development goal with respect to hunger eradication with respect to Africa has been a failure. Low levels of education especially in women are key perpetuators of poor nutrition practices in this Region of the World. Children under five are the most affected. Male children tend to have better health status than females in certain communities.

The problem is further aggravated by adverse climatic conditions, with droughts and floods in some areas. Government policy has not been very successful most of the time, because most governments fail to consider this as a serious issue, and rescue projects from the western world are vertical and do not consider socio cultural realities of target implementation sites. In Africa, funds accorded for fighting malnutrition are often embezzled.

·         Improving government policy, increasing political will and application of community adapted strategies in tackling this issue is fundamental. It should be recognized, not only as a public health issue, but as a fundamental human right especially for children to eat. Starting life disadvantaged with adverse consequences from malnutrition (ill health, mental retardation, high malnutrition related morbidity and mortality resulting especially from under-five deaths) is a neglected but serious developmental hindrance to Sub - Saharan Africa.

·         The fight against corruption must cease to be lip service but actually get effective.

·         The use of modern agricultural techniques to increase food production is very essential. Provision or subsidization of the ministries of Agriculture to provide fertilizers, use genetically modified foods to resist adverse weather conditions and improve yield could be possible solutions to be investigated.

·         Improvement of the transport system to give access to locals to sell their local produce to raise incomes for their families is important.

·         Base Line surveys to determine and understand sociocultural peculiarities of each community during implementation of particular programs are vital. Avoidance of vertical programs could be of great help.

·         The ministry of environments of countries must engage in programs to protect the environment which continues to be degrading. Feasible and sustainable irrigation programs should be scaled up especially in drought affected regions.

·         The solution to this problem of malnutrition in developing countries entails a multisectorial approach with well defined and achievable goals. The ministries of health, education, agricultural, environment, universities and research organizations and other non-governmental organizations or international donors must work together if any tangible outcomes are expected.

Further research involving the potential acceptability of new agricultural technologies, modern farming methods and genetically modified foods in a Sub Saharan African context should be undertaken. Understanding the socio cultural peculiarities of the milieu is fundamental. It might be difficult and unproductive implementing some health promotion programs, especially when they are very vertical and culturally inadapted. Implication of the community representatives in the programs from the early planning stages could be key determinants of program ownership, acceptability and sustainability. #EndingHunger #ZeroHunger #SDGS #ClimateChangeActions #SDGS #Sustainability #ResourceManagement #Humanity #FoodSecurity #NutritionforAll