(Page 2 or 3)
It is easy enough to say that southern Africans suffer from widespread hunger and undernourishment because of the region’s ubiquitous poverty, but this simplistic explanation does not address the entire problem. During the 1990s, most of the southern African countries achieved healthy rates of economic growth. Benefits from this growth, however, have been narrowly distributed, making countries like Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe some of the most unequal societies in the world. In many Southern African countries, government policies in the late 1990s intensified the region’s economic hardship, directly injuring the region’s food security. At the same time, developed countries cut back their aid promises, citing incompatible political views or diminished faith in the African governments’ ability or willingness to fairly distribute incoming aid. The controversy surrounding the provision of genetically-modified food has also constrained the humanitarian effort in some areas.
Increasing food insecurity in southern Africa has triggered a chain reaction of negative health consequences. In 2000, 30% of children in the region were underweight, while a full third were acutely hungry, not even consuming enough calories to sustain everyday activities. Chronic undernourishment, as indicated by stunted growth, extreme thinness, and wasting are even more prevalent than acute hunger. A UNICEF 2001 survey found that over 30% of children in Malawi and Mozambique exhibited stunted growth. Overall, 2.3 million children were underweight in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Aside from the obvious discomforts and insecurities associated with everyday hunger, poor nutrition in early childhood predisposes individuals to more severe health problems in the future. In a 2000 Zimbabwean study assessing the impact of early nutrition on development, it was found that exposure to the 1982 – 84 drought had resulted in an average 2.3-centimeter height reduction and 0.4 grades less of schooling for Zimbabwean children. Typically, malnutrition rates are even worse for girls, who suffer from the region’s anti-female bias in food allocation. According to the 5th Report on the World Nutrition Situation in 2004, only three out of the ten African countries surveyed showed improvement in their maternal nutrition figures.
<<Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next>>