As our planet warms and the population continues to
increase, one of the most significant issues is going to be that of food
security - how do we continue to feed people when the amount of arable land is
finite and the plants themselves are coming under increasing threat from
drought, heat and fungal attack?
Over the last 30 years, significant progress has been made
towards reducing poverty and global hunger. However, today, nearly 823 million people
or one in eight is undernourished. By 2050, that number could grow by two
billion. Most of the world’s hungry live in developing countries.
It’s time to rethink the solution to ending hunger. We
know that hand-outs don’t work. We know that top-down models of aid don’t
work. We do know that ending hunger is possible within our generation
and that world hunger has been reduced dramatically in the last 30
years. So, what works? How can we end world hunger?
There are critical elements that we know gets results: starting
with mobilizing everyone in the community, empower women, and fostering
effective partnerships with local government etc. Here’s why:
Community engagements;
Mobilizing communities to be the agents of their own change are central to
ending hunger. Hungry people are not the problem – they are the
solution. People living in conditions of hunger and poverty are best
placed to come up with answers to the challenges they face. They have both the
talent and the will to take charge of their own lives. They know their own
needs and are aware of the resources their communities have and those they
lack.
That’s why mobilizing the “people power” that gives
communities the clout and voice to demand the resources that are rightfully
theirs ignites communities to end their own hunger. We must focus on training
members of communities to take action in the areas of health, food security,
education family income and local government, who, in turn, are mobilizing
millions of others to do the same. Implication of the community representatives
in the programs from the early planning stages could be key determinants of
program ownership, acceptability and sustainability.
Empowering women;
Empowering women and girls is critical to ending hunger, extreme poverty and malnutrition
around the world. When women have equal access to education and participate
fully in decision-making, they are the key driving force against hunger
and poverty. Women with equal rights are better educated, healthier, and have
greater access to land, jobs and financial resources. Their increased earning
power in turn raises household incomes.
There are over 600 million small farmers and herders in
the world, but one of the key reasons there are so many hungry people is
because nearly more than a half of those farmers are not women. Even though
they are as equally capable as male farmers, these women face challenges that
cause them to grow less food.
By enhancing women’s control over decision-making in the
household, gender equality also translates into better prospects and greater
well-being of children, reducing poverty of future generations. Indeed,
if women farmers had the same access to resources as men, the
number of hungry in the world could be reduced by up to 150 million. It’s
true that countries that empower women tend to see lower rates of stunting
(low height for age), the primary measure of chronic under nutrition.
Government
partnership; 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 use of modern agricultural techniques to increase food
production is very essential. Provision or subsidization of governments to
provide fertilizers, use genetically modified foods to resist adverse weather
conditions and improve yield could be possible solutions to be investigated. 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.
Finally, 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.
Working faster and bigger has to be our ultimate goal so
that the small farmers of today can be fed and can prepare for the rapidly
growing population. Another key factor in ensuring food security is inclusive
growth – growth that promotes access for everyone to food, assets and resources.
We need to also think bigger, ask the difficult questions,
and confront the larger issues of poverty and inequality if we ever hope to end
hunger once and for all, ending world hunger can be done #ZeroHunger
#CommunityMobilization #SDG2 #SDGS #Sustainability #Humanity #FoodSecurity
#NutritionforAll #SustainableAgriculture #EmpowerWomen #SDG5
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