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When living on a college campus where there’s an abundance of dining centers, restaurants, and grocery stores in every direction, it’s easy to ignore the problems that so much of the world faces when it comes to malnutrition and hunger. While hunger in some form is a problem in all countries, the Global South and especially regions in Africa are highlighted and thought of first when thinking about the topics of malnutrition and hunger. Not only do these issues impact a group of people and society greatly in a negative way, but they also lead to numerous more issues such as health issues and trouble functioning to the full potential that the society could if given the resources. Many are infected by malnutrition and hunger and there are many causes that lead to these issues including not only poverty but government involvement as well. This essay will explore who is infected in certain areas of Africa if the government has any involvement with helping or harming the societies, and health-related issues that come from malnutrition and hunger as well as solutions and steps we can take to help.
While many are affected by malnutrition and hunger, children are especially harmed. Nutrition is important for proper growth and development, therefore, the lack of proper nutrition during this critical time can be detrimental. A UN News article headlines “Around 260,000 children in DR (democratic republic) Congo’s Kasai region suffering severe acute malnutrition” (which is malnutrition caused by the lack of nutrients in the body due to not having enough food to consume or because of an illness where a lot of weight is lost) portrays how many are affected by malnutrition (2019; AAH, 2018). The article continues to mention how the situation is so extreme that many need life-saving treatment (UN news, 2019). Malnutrition affects development and one common consequence of malnutrition is stunting. Stunting is when the child is too short for their age and is underdeveloped. The results of a recent study from The Guardian show that 1 in 3 African children are stunted (2019). The reality that so many children are suffering health issues due to malnutrition is sad and often overlooked by many.
Along with stunting, malnutrition can also cause marasmus and kwashiorkor. These two issues arise from a severe form of malnutrition called protein-energy malnutrition or PEM. While marasmus is more common in very young children and babies, kwashiorkor is more common in older children and is a form of extreme protein deficiency (Hansen, 2016). The 260,000 children in Kasia mentioned in the UN News article that suffer from malnutrition are much more likely to be affected by marasmus or kwashiorkor than those who get the proper nutrients they need.
Although there are a lot of children suffering from malnutrition, there are also many people who are studying different foods and trying to find a solution. Makumba C. Temba and others wrote about a possible solution in the article “The role of compositing cereals with legumes to alleviate protein energy malnutrition in Africa” where the idea arose that combining legumes and cereals could lead to a more nutrient-dense meal and therefore help the protein energy malnutrition problem in Africa (Temba et al.,2016). This discovery would help not only those children suffering in Kasia but those who are affected by malnutrition everywhere. It is important that we continue to study new ways to help solve this issue and diminish the amount of malnutrition that occurs all over the world as much as possible.
Malnutrition can be caused by not adequately taking up nutrients from the food digested but a major cause of malnutrition is not digesting the nutrients in the first place which is due to food deprivation or hunger. An article from The Hunger Project titled “Poverty” portrays how the cause of hunger can be traced to poverty. The article gives an alarming statistic, claiming that in developing countries, hundreds of millions of people live off of what equals $1.90 or less every day (2019). This money is what they live off of not only for food but everything they need to survive (THP, 2019). Millions of people live in hunger and it is due to not having enough money to buy food which continues to go up in price. The article leads to an interesting point when it mentions how girls who live in poverty often have to miss school because they need to make money. This event leads to lesser education and overall inequality (THP, 2019). This is a cycle that needs to be broken.
In the article, “Poverty and malnutrition in Africa: a conceptual analysis,'' author Samuel Ayofemi Olalekan Adeyeye and others describe how despite natural resources, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in many African regions is some of the lowest in all the nations and continues to describe how poverty is the beginning of malnutrition and primary cause of hunger (Adeyeye et al., 2017) . This article shows the relationship between poverty, the economy, malnutrition, and hunger.
Along with malnutrition, the government and economy also play a major role in whether a society suffers from hunger or food deprivation. The Guardian News mentions in their article titled, “Nearly half of all child deaths in Africa stem from hunger, study shows...” how children are dying every second from food deprivation, what the causes of food deprivation are, and what forces drive hunger (2019). 10,000 children die (that’s about one child every three seconds) each day around the globe all because of not having enough food to eat, according to a study done by the Guardian (2019). The Guardian quotes Assefa Bekele, an executive director for ACPF (Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework) when Bequele talks about how at the root of it, child hunger is a political issue (2019). Many people don’t realize or think about the factors that contribute to hunger besides poverty but in fact there are a lot of driving forces that cause child hunger including, gender inequality (as seen from The Hunger Project article), and skewed economic growth (The Guardian, 2019). This shows how complicated the issue of child hunger truly is and how important it is to work hard to find the solutions needed to alleviate the problem.
In the article, The Politics of Hunger, by Paul Collier, it is mentioned how policymakers and politicians have the power and capability to lower food prices yet high food prices is still an issue that leads to greater amounts of children being hungry (2008). This furthers the fact that poverty is not the sole cause of hunger but politics is also behind the issue. The economy as well plays a role. Poor farmers may be self-sufficient but if the economy is bad or their crops don’t have a good season (adding climate into the equation), then major issues will arise (Collier, 2008).
Although someone may never be affected by malnutrition, hunger, or poverty, that doesn’t mean that those who do suffer should be treated with any less respect or dignity. When thinking about situations, one should look for fair solutions and not discriminate against any group of people that may have less. Circumstance plays a big role in what situation a person lives in. The government plays a part and poverty, economy, location, and even climate all have a role. Just because someone is born into that situation or finds themself in a situation where they are hungry and need food, doesn’t mean they are any less human and they deserve access and availability to resources that would allow them to live and function normally. The children mentioned in the UN News article who suffer from acute malnutrition have the right to be able to grow and develop at a healthy pace. All the child deaths mentioned in the Guardian News that are due to hunger should never occur with the resources available today. There shouldn’t be so much extreme suffering at the hands of politics and bad economies. Being human means we have a right to be human. Having a right to be human means we should have the right to basic human needs, especially food.
The news articles from the UN highlighting malnutrition in Kasai, The Hunger Project highlighting poverty, and from The Guardian highlighting hunger and government involvement all focus on different issues. However, all these issues contribute to the fact that there are so many around the world suffering from a lack of food. From reading these articles it’s obvious that this isn’t a simple problem. It’s a cycle that’s affected by the economy, government, climate, and social injustices. There is so much that is involved and needs to be fixed in order for societies to function in a healthy way where everyone can grow to their full potential. While there are solutions being evolved, such as the cereal and legume mix to help fight protein-energy malnutrition, there is always more that can be done to help.
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