In Africa, hunger is increasing at an alarming rate. Economic woes are reversing progress
In the Africa region, there has been slight progress towards achieving global nutrition targets. The global target for overweight among children under 5 years of age has 28 countries on course to meet it, wasting among children under 5 years of age and exclusive breastfeeding among infants aged 0 to 5 months each have 17 countries on course, while stunting among children under 5 years of age has five countries on course. However, not a single country in the region is on course to meet the targets for anaemia in women of reproductive age (aged 15 to 49 years), low birth weight, diabetes among men, diabetes among women, obesity among men, and obesity among women. 20 countries in the region have insufficient data to comprehensively assess their progress towards these global targets.
The latest data shows that anaemia affects an estimated 39.0% of women of reproductive age. Some 13.7% of infants have a low weight at birth in the Africa region. The estimated average prevalence of infants aged 0 to 5 months who are exclusively breastfed is 43.6%, which is lower than the global average of 44.0%. Although it performs relatively well against other regions, Africa still experiences a malnutrition burden among children aged under 5 years. The average prevalence of overweight is 4.7%, which is lower than the global average of 5.6%. The prevalence of stunting is 29.1% - higher than the global average of 21.3%. Conversely, the Africa region's prevalence of wasting is 6.4%, which is lower than the global average of 6.9%.
The Africa region's adult population also faces a malnutrition burden: an average of 8.6% of adult (aged 18 and over) women live with diabetes, compared to 8.3% of men. Meanwhile, 18.4% of women and 7.8% of men live with obesity.
History of hunger and famine in Africa:
A look back at some of Africa’s major food crises shows conditions still faced by many Africans today include poverty, drought, conflict, and environmental degradation due to overgrazing, deforestation, and other types of environmental damages.
1)1968 to 1980s — A drought in the Sahel region led to 1 million deaths in Mali, Chad, Niger, Mauritania, and Burkina Faso.
2)1980 to 1981 — Drought and conflict led to widespread hunger in Uganda.
3)1984 to 1985 — Famine in Ethiopia: Drought in the northern highlands and problems delivering aid led to about 1 million deaths and massive displacements.
4)1991 to 1992 — The Somalia famine was caused by drought and civil war.
5)1998 to 2004 — During the Second Congo War, more than 3 million people died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mainly from starvation and disease.
6)2011 to 2012 — The Horn of Africa hunger crisis was responsible for 285,000 deaths in East Africa.
7)2015 to 2016 — A strong El Niño affected almost all of East and Southern Africa, causing food insecurity for more than 50 million people.
8)2017 — 25 million people, including 15 million children, needed humanitarian assistance in East Africa. In September, inter-communal conflict in Ethiopia led to more than 800,000 people becoming internally displaced.
8)2018 — Africa was home to more than half of the global total of acutely food-insecure people, estimated at 65 million people. East Africa had the highest number at 28.6 million, followed by Southern Africa at 23.3 million, and West Africa at 11.2 million.
9)2019 — Food security is deteriorating and expected to worsen in some countries between October 2019 and January 2020.
Why are people in Africa facing chronic hunger?
Recurring drought, conflict, and instability have led to severe food shortages. Many countries have struggled with extreme poverty for decades, so they lack government and community support systems to help their struggling families.
A compressed cycle of recurring drought is plunging the same communities into drought again before they have a chance to recover sufficiently from the last one.
In South Sudan, where people fled their homes because of violence, few farmers have been able to harvest a crop. This limits what is available at community markets and raises food prices. Also, during the rainy season, 60% of the country is inaccessible by roads, which limits transportation of food aid as well as goods sent to market.
From March through May 2018, long rains were 150% to 200% above normal in some East Africa locations. This brought some relief to herders as livestock benefit from renewed grasslands. However, in many places, flash floods and overflowing rivers wiped out crops, roads, and bridges, thwarting both cultivation and relief activities.
In such conditions, poor families can’t afford enough food to keep their children healthy, and eventually, they need emergency help from government agencies or aid groups when they run out of money and food. We’re not talking low funds or food that’s been in our pantry that’s well past its expiration. We’re talking about not having any money or any food at all — nothing.
The longer these factors persist, the harder it is for families to stave off the effects of lost livelihoods and homes.
Why does it seem like there’s always a hunger crisis in Africa?
Drought, poor harvests, and instability create a cycle that’s difficult to break. And this happens in other regions of the world, too.
When instability persists because of conflict or political problems, people flee their homes or are unable to plant their crops. Then less food gets harvested. Prices go up. Families’ livelihood prospects dwindle as markets close. Violent conflict makes situations worse because humanitarian groups often cannot access affected communities to bring emergency relief.
Droughts have become more frequent and intense in recent years in Western, Eastern, and Southern Africa. These droughts affect food-production systems in fragile contexts in similar ways that conflict does. Less food and water also means vast numbers of dead livestock in affected areas. This devastates families whose livestock are their main source of income and nutrition.
And when nearly 40% of children in sub-Saharan Africa grow up stunted due to chronic malnutrition, they lack the capacity to learn and contribute to society. It’s because their little bodies don’t get enough of the right nutrients at the right times to support physical and intellectual growth. Thus, their countries lose out on significant leadership and innovative potential, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty and deprivation.
How is World Vision responding to hunger and food crises in Africa?
1)Food assistance, including emergency feeding and cash
2)Diagnosis and treatment of childhood malnutrition
3)Water and sanitation to prevent water-related diseases and provide water for irrigation
4)Support for improved, more efficient agriculture and for farmers to diversify livelihoods
5)Land rehabilitation to improve harvests
How can people become resilient so they don’t need aid?
1)Farmers and pastoralists benefit from market development, immunizations for livestock, and training and seeds to grow drought-resistant crops.
2)Cash aid gives impoverished families the ability to take care of themselves and stimulates local markets.
3)Saving groups and community banks make loans that help members recover from emergencies.
4)Building and repairing water and sanitation facilities contribute to healthy living.
5)New business training, equipment, and materials can help families diversify their income so their assets are not wiped out by drought or adverse weather.
6)Developing resilience is a generational process. Children who stay in school are better prepared for the challenges and opportunities in their future.
