HUNGER AND FAMINE IN AFRICA

Hunger and Famine in Africa

Hunger and Famine in Africa

Main Causes of Hunger and Famine:

On the 16 October, World Food Day is celebrated around the world. The right to adequate food is recognized and codified by the UN bodies. However, in view of the figures published each year, the proportion of hungry people has risen. (Devereux, 2003, 54-186)In the aftermath of the 2008 food crisis, African leaders returned to their rhetoric about the need to move towards food self-sufficiency. If all African leaders merely agree on the need to increase agricultural production to feed people, it is clear that the situation has not fundamentally changed. Countries, once self-sufficient are now dependent on food aid worldwide.

According to the first edition of "The State of Food Security in the World" published by FAO in October 2009, 10 SSA countries have reduced the number of undernourished by 21 million people between 1980 and 1996. (Cove, 2008, 231-244)Yet over the same period, 22 SSA countries have seen their population undernourished increase from 114 million, while six countries registered a slight decrease - a decrease that failed to prevent the proportion of the population suffering from malnutrition from declining. In West Africa, FAO (2008) estimated that since 1990 famine in Senegal has increased from slight to dramatic rating. (Fagan, 2008, 204-367) In East Africa, Kenya is facing a production shortfall due largely to the decline in rainfall in 2008-2009. (Colson, 2009, 18-29) In Malawi, land degradation is the greatest threat to human survival and remains the biggest challenge despite three years of surplus production. In 2010, according to the World Food Program, "the number of people who suffer from hunger remains unacceptable despite the recent publication of latest figures indicating that just under one billion people affected. The new estimates indicate that the number of people who suffer from chronic hunger this year will be 925 million. In 2009, this figure stood at 1,023 billion people. (Blix, 2001, 25-168)" Despite this progress, the proportion of the population suffering from malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa remains the world's largest, with 239 million people or 30% of the population. The causes of hunger are well documented, so there is no need for further explanation. (Conquest, 2006, 54-92)According to the committee of the FAO food security, fundamental challenges to increase food crisis in Africa are related to land tenure security and international investment, how to manage a country's vulnerability and the risks involved in protracted crises. Long-term implementation strategies for agricultural growth are absolutely vital. Thus, it should be remembered that the first of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is a fight against hunger and food insecurity. (Clay, 2006, 229-304)

In Ethiopia, drought has certain regularity. The first major crisis of hunger recorded in the year, took place in the fourteenth century, and has subsequently been repeated every 13 or 14 years over the past six centuries. Over time, the frequency of crop failure has been accelerated and has reached a frequency of 7 to 8 years ...