Report says nearly half of child deaths in

Africa due to hunger

Crux Staff Jun 22, 2019
AUTHOR

In this Aug. 29, 2016 file photo, a doctor feeds a malnourished child at a
feeding center run by Doctors Without Borders in Maiduguri, Nigeria.
(Credit: Sunday Alamba/AP.)

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon - A new study says 45 percent of child deaths in Africa is due to
insufficient food, and officials from Caritas fear the situation is not getting better.

The report from the African Child Policy Forum says child hunger “is the most extreme
form of child deprivation.”

“Hunger kills, often silently and slowly. It affects and damages children’s health, hinders
their capacity to learn, and reduces their ability to earn as much as their better-off
peers,” it continues`.

The study says nearly 60 million children in Africa do not have enough food despite the
continent’s economic growth in recent years.

“It is the offspring of the unholy alliance of political indifference, unaccountable

governance, and economic mismanagement. Persistent and naked though the reality is,
it remains a silent tragedy, one that remains largely unacknowledged and tolerated,
perhaps because it is a poor man’s problem,” said Assefa Bequele, ACPF’s executive
director, following the release of the report on May 22.

“It is completely unacceptable that children are still going hungry in Africa in the 21st
century. The statistics are truly alarming. Child hunger is driven by extreme poverty,
uneven and unequal economic growth, gender inequality and a broken food system.
Although Africa now produces more food than ever, it hasn’t resulted in better diets,” he
said.

Caritas officials in two Southern African countries told Crux the situation is getting worse.

Both countries are not specifically mentioned in the report, but child malnutrition levels
in Malawi are so high that half of all child mortalities are caused by hunger, while 40
percent of Zambian children are stunted.

Mercy Chirambo of Caritas Malawi noted “the report links hunger with the issue of
policies and politics.”

She said hunger is also linked with public health deficiencies.

“For pregnant or lactating mothers, access to health services or antenatal and postnatal
care is a big challenge especially in the rural areas where the majority of people live.
The issue is also exacerbated by lack of knowledge among the rural masses on proper
food nutrition and an agricultural system that is short of crop diversification,” Chirambo
told Crux.

She also said malnutrition falls disproportionately on rural children in the least-
developed and developing countries.

Musamba Mubanga of Caritas Zambia said child malnutrition is mostly attributed to food
insecurity at the household level especially in the rural areas.

“Most households can only afford one meal a day and the diets are mostly poor,” she
told Crux.

“Dietary diversity in Zambia is a major challenge. Children do not consume food from
enough food groups, with only 22 percent of children age 6-23 months found to have
sufficient dietary diversity according to infant and young child feeding guidelines,”
Mubanga continued. In addition, there are “poor caring practices for women and
children especially between the ages of 2 months and 2 years when feeding is critical,
especially breast feeding.”

She said “lack of access to clean water is a key factor in the persistence of chronic
malnutrition in Zambia.”
The African Child Policy Forum report notes that conflict zones and issues relating to
climate change lie at the heart of the crisis of hunger in Africa.

It indicates that 75 percent of the continent’s stunted children under the age of five live
in war-torn zones.

“In areas experiencing protracted conflicts, the rate of undernourishment in children is

about two to three times higher,” the report explains.

Furthermore, two years ago 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.

Chirambo said that “more pro-poor and pro-women policies in Africa” should be put in
place.

“Not only having the policies but also effectively implementing them. For most countries,
good policies are available, but implementation is a challenge,” she said.

She said Caritas Malawi has been implementing livelihood projects focusing on
agriculture and promoting “sustainable and diversified agriculture in the rural
communities to ensure that families in the rural areas have enough food for their
household consumption.”

She said the charity was also promoting access to food through farming but also
through “Village Savings and Loans” to ensure that families “are able to access food
through the market to supplement their harvest. We have also been involved in cooking
demonstrations targeting both men and women to raise awareness on the proper food
compositions and preparation methods for improved nutrition.”
NAME: NICKA P. DUETA YEAR AND SECTION: BSINFO.TECH1-A

(REPORT SAYS NEARLY HALF OF CHILD DEATHS IN

AFRICA DUE TO HUNGER)

Every day we wake up, take a shower, have our breakfast, drink the cup of tea or

coffee and do other everyday things without realizing that a lot of people suffer from

everyday cravings. They feel hunger and thirst on the everyday basis. Could you

imagine being so hungry that you can see every little detail of your bones? What if you

didn't have enough energy talk, or even walk? This is not a joke, nor a pleasant position

to be in. Nowadays, children are the most controversial issue, in a way that they are

talented but there are also group of children who suffered in terms of food system. In

fact, many of them faced extreme hunger and even commit death. In the 21 st century,

the problems of African people are still existing. Poverty leads to child hunger; hunger

can cause child malnutrition and hinders their capacity to learn and can’t interact well

with their peers. The future economic of Africa will not be progressive since it is under

threat from alarming in high levels of child hunger.

The children suffered due to hunger because their parents are lack of knowledge

about family planning that leads them to make a lot of children. In fact, most of them are

not an educated individual or they did not finish their studies. That’s why they can’t find

a stable job to sustain their financial needs. However, children really need to eat well in

order to grow, be healthy and strong. They need protection from illness and injury as

they explore the world around them. Based on the news article, “Hunger kills, often

silently and slowly. It affects and damages children’s health, hinders their capacity to
learn, and reduces their ability to earn as much as their better-off peers,”. It is basically

true, children are still developing, and if they don't eat enough, their brain can't develop

completely. Their bodies also won't be able to develop completely. It is also a problem

because kids aren't able to concentrate in school and are not getting a proper education.

They don't have the energy to do sports so they aren't getting enough physical

education. Kids are our future and we don't want our future unable to function properly.

Children are not able to fulfill their potential. In addition, “It is completely unacceptable

that children are still going hungry in Africa in the 21st century. The statistics are truly

alarming. Child hunger is driven by extreme poverty, uneven and unequal economic

growth, gender inequality and a broken food system. Although Africa now produces

more food than ever, it hasn’t resulted in better diets,” said, Assefa Bequele, ACPF’s

executive director. I am sure that everyone know that poverty is the main cause of

hunger in the world. Poverty includes people's lack of resources, such as food, water,

and proper climate. Hence, poverty has become a great issue in our world. Though

many organizations have been created to find solutions for this matter nobody could not

save our world completely from poverty. Furthermore, Caritas Malawi has been

implementing livelihood projects focusing on agriculture and promoting “sustainable and

diversified agriculture in the rural communities to ensure that families in the rural areas

have enough food for their household consumption.” Although, African people suffered

about their agricultural needs, Caritas Malawi finds way on how to reduce their

problems specifically in the rural areas of Africa. I believed that in a world of abundant

wealth and resources, where enough food is produced to feed everyone on the planet, it

is unacceptable that hundreds of millions of people suffer from hunger.

 I hope you realized how child hunger problem is and how it needs to be

stopped. Children in Africa aren't fulfilling their full potential and showing the world what

they can do. Child hunger is happening everywhere, impacting everyone, and it's

happening because children simply don't have the resources they need. Basically, some

of the families in poor Africa did not undergo in family planning wherein they have at

least six or seven kids. In fact, those parents cannot provide proper education, and

good foods filled with suitable nutrients to their kids due to lack of wealth because they

have no stable job to lean on. On that way, their healthiness becomes less and the

development of their brains becomes insufficient and due to that their ability to get a

proper education decrease. That’s why I can say that parents should undergo family

planning not only for their sake but for their children’s future. The government must help

the poor people who lived in rural areas in a way that they will give some job

opportunities like agriculture to sustain the needs of their children. In developed

countries they might increase the number of organizations which are working to reduce

child hunger. You might think that you can’t help those children because Africa is too far

from you, it’s a big NO! Since, even when you go from store to store, they just might

have a donation box for the hungry; just by throwing some change in there, you are

helping! Thus, you have so many organizations to pick from, and you won't break a

sweat donating. I challenge everyone, that once you make a contribution, you will

believe that you did a reliable thing. Remember that you eat more than thrice a day and

throw you foods in the garbage bin, not knowing that there are children who needs that

food to eat every day and even some of them commit death because of hunger.