For Faith & Family

World Hunger - Africa

by: Jerry Price - Sep 1, 2006 - comments: 1

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has issued a warning that 27 sub-Saharan countries in Africa are now in need of help. The combination of local drought conditions and civil strife has resulted in 200 million malnourished people. Though Africa is a vast continent and no one explanation can be cited as the cause of the prevailing hunger problems, four issues seem to be critical:

• Decades of underinvestment in rural areas which have little political clout. A statement by the International Food Policy Research Institute highlights the problem: “Poor governance is a major issue in many African countries, and one that has serious repercussions for long-term food security.”
• Wars and political conflict leading to refugees and instability. The continent has “suffered from 186 coups and 26 major wars in the past 50 years.”
• HIV/AIDS depriving families of their most productive labor. In southern Africa, 30 percent of sexually active adults are HIV positive.
• Unchecked population growth. In spite of the deaths from the AIDS epidemic, the population of sub-Saharan Africa has more than doubled in the past 30 years. The current rate of growth is 2.2% per year.

More Than Half of Africa Is Now in Need of Urgent Food Assistance (Bread for the World) [Accessed March 29, 2006]

• If current trends continue, Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where child malnutrition will rise the next 20 years. IFPRI projects an increase of 6.6 million or 20% in the number of malnourished children from 1997 to 2020.
• With extra investments (approximately $76-$183 billion more than expected) in roads, irrigation, clean water, education and agricultural research and dramatic changes in policies to promote rapid economic growth and higher crop yields, child malnutrition could fall by one-third by 2020.
• Between 1967 and 1997 cereal production in Sub-Saharan Africa more than doubled. However, due to rapid population growth, about 2.8% annually, the amount of cereal produced per capita actually dropped slightly.
• Despite widespread malnutrition, cereal imports into Sub-Saharan Africa have remained low due to persistent poverty. In 1997, imports provided only 15% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s total grain consumption.
• Cultivating more and more land will not solve Sub-Saharan Africa’s food security problems for the long-term. Between 1967 and 1997, the region expanded cereal cultivation by 31 million hectares and roots and tubers cultivation by 8 million hectares. This rate of expansion is not sustainable; therefore, higher crop yields are needed to reduce malnutrition in Africa.
• The population of Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow from 560.9 million in 1997 to 958.6 million in 2020, a 71% increase.

Global Food Projections to 2020: Emerging Trends and Alternative Futures—Sub-Sahara Africa (International Food Policy Research Institute) [Accessed March 29, 2006]

“Millions of people are on the brink of starvation in the Horn of Africa due to recent severe droughts coupled with the effects of past and ongoing conflicts . . . In Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia more than 11 million people are estimated to be in need of assistance . . . In Somalia, most of the affected people are in the south where pastoral communities are facing acute food and livelihood crises due to severe drought. The secondary rainy season or Deyr (October to December) failed in most of the eight agricultural regions in the south resulting in widespread crop failure. It is estimated that the forthcoming Deyr crop, about to be harvested, could be the lowest in a decade . . .

“In Kenya, crop failure and depletion of livestock herds due to prolonged drought have led to famine conditions with some deaths reported in the arid areas. The government has called for about $150 million to provide food for about 2.5 million people, almost 10 percent of the population, over the next six months. Additional assistance is also required for the provision of water for both people and animals, restocking of livestock and provision of seeds to farmers in preparation for the next crop season.

“In Djibouti, severe drought conditions have worsened the food security conditions of large numbers of pastoralists. Nearly 150,000 people, almost one-fifth of the population, are estimated to be facing food shortages.

“In Ethiopia, despite favourable harvest prospects for the main season crop, currently being harvested, severe food shortages are being reported in the pastoral areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia. Initial estimates indicate more than one million people in the Somali Region to be facing severe food shortages. Over $40 million are urgently required to stave off starvation. The onset of the dry season (January to March) is expected to worsen the situation. Overall, more than 8 million people in Ethiopia rely on food assistance in both relief and safety net programmes.”

Excerpted from Millions of People Are on the Brink of Starvation in the Horn of Africa (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), January 6, 2006

Benard Namachila, Vice-President Permanent Secretary of Zambia, said late last year that an increasing number of Zambians are in danger of starvation. Namachila pointed out that, between July and November of 2005, the number of Zambians in danger of starvation jumped from 1,232,661 to 1,714,385. The increase was at least partly due to the addition of seven new districts where hunger is worsening being added to the government’s list. Namachila indicated that “The government has done, is doing and will continue to do its very best in the interest of the people of Zambia to ensure that no life is lost under this hunger situation.” One member of Parliament, however, called for a declaration that the hunger situation was a national disaster and accused the government of playing hide and seek between the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and the Disaster Management Unit while people were starving.

“Zambia; Country’s Hunger Situation Worsens,” Africa News, November 18, 2005

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