Abigail Lucas
9/21/09
2:57
In past months there have been several news stories about the drought in East Africa. However West Africa is also very vulnerable to food insecurity. The difference between the two situations is that West Africa is not in a prolonged drought. Poverty in this region has caused people to reduce their food in-take so that they can afford other expenses such as health care. According to Claude Jibidar the WFP’s deputy regional director, “when you have 30 to 50 percent malnutrition in a region it means you have a larger chunk of the population which is poor, at risk and vulnerable, and a combination of shocks could bring about a disastrous situation”. He later describes a situation that occurred in Niger in 2005 where between 10 and 15 children died per week and about 2.5 million people faced starvation. Poor agriculture policies and high food prices have also contributed to the acute food insecurity in this region. “West African governments need to acknowledge hunger and chronic malnutrition as key challenges and commit to fighting them efficiently, including through the creation of safety nets for the most vulnerable” said Jibidar. Agencies like Oxfam are also urged West African governments to invest in agriculture and to adopt sound policies for agriculture and rule development.
I thought it was interesting how at the beginning of this article it said “People are dying because of lack of water, failing crops and emaciated livestock….” then it went on to say “you probably think East Africa when you read this”. Some of the same problems that are occurring in East Africa are also occurring in West Africa as well, but not because of drought, instead one of the reasons is poverty. The fact that some of these people are having to choose between a daily meal and adequate health care reminds me of a previous article where the people where having to choose between eating and taking their medications for HIV.
http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/58388/2009/09/16-135939-1.htm
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