Hungry

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Hungry for Food Security
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What is Food Security?

• food security entails access, by all people, at
  all times, to the safe and nutritious food that
  they need to lead healthy lives

ACCESS
ALL TIMES
SAFE NUTRITIOUS
ALL PEOPLE
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Categorizing Food Insecurity

• ACUTE CHRONIC OCCASIONAL

Severe hunger malnutrition to the point that
lives are threatened immediately (as in cases of
famine)
Ability to meet food needs is consistently under
threat (due to either an inability to produce
enough food or purchase enough food on a regular
basis)
When food insecurity occurs due to a specific
temporary circumstance- when one would otherwise
be food secure
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Hunger In Our World

• In 2002, 852 million people were undernourished

• In Sub-Saharan Africa there are over 200 million
  people who are food insecure

• Every year the number of food insecure people is
  INCREASING (with the notable exceptions of China
  and India)

• In Sub-Saharan Africa the number of
  undernourished grows by 1 million a year

Source FAO
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Implications for Health Development

• Hunger malnutrition are the leading cause of
  death in the developing world

• Half of all childhood deaths due to illness can
  be attributed to being underweight

• Direct Costs Caring for the sick, food
  interventions etc.

• Indirect Costs Toll of disease and general
  ill-health on productive capabilities- economic
  decline

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Causes of Food Insecurity In Africa
1. Food Availability Is there enough food?

• Factors affecting agricultural production
  (including natural environmental occurrences and
  human caused factors)
• Factors affecting trade (import of food or
  export of food for income)
• Cultural practices affecting control of food
• Issues about what kind of food is available?
  Does it meet nutritional needs?

• 2. Food Access
• Who has it? Where is it?
• Who can afford it?

3. Food Use Does it meet needs? Is it
useable?
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Natural Causes
Even natural factors are exacerbated by human
actions. Drought on its own does not result in
acute food insecurity or famine.
Naturally occurring environmental factors leading
to a decline in food production

• Drought
• a protracted period of deficient precipitation
  resulting in extensive damage to crops and loss
  of yield

How frequently do droughts occur?
How long does the drought last?
Was the drought expected?
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Human Economics

• Can an economy/community/household withstand
  shocks to food production?

• Are there food stores?
• Can food be purchased using saved income?

• Malawian Example
• Malawi prone to seasonal droughts
• Government sells off grain stores in order to
  meet other financial obligations (debt etc.)
  enforced by the Global North
• Seasonal drought becomes famine
• NGOs like CPAR have to intervene with food aid

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Human Wars

• Wars cause/exacerbate food insecurity by

• Causing damage to land and disrupting trade
  systems
• Displacing people from their land (IDPs
  Refugees)
• Diverting for military expenditures

• Ugandan Example
• 19 year civil war
• Rebels staging raids on villages laying mines
• 1.4 million forced to relocate to IDP camps
• Malnutrition rates in IDP camps 20 and 40 for
  children under 5 vs. 15 national average

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HIV/AIDS

• 25 million Africans have HIV/AIDS.
• 2 million die every year.
• 13 million children have been orphaned.
• AIDS is devastating to household food security

• Agricultural workers sick and dying ?
  production
• Excess income diverted to care for sick and pay
  for funeral expenses ? household ability to
  purchase food
• Widows and orphans with no land tenure rights
  are left particularly vulnerable
• As are guardian households with more mouths to
  feed
• Lack of nutrients can shorten incubation period
  of HIV and causes AIDS to progress more quickly

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Environmental Degradation

• Damage to the natural environment through
  deforestation, over-cultivation, overgrazing etc.
  causes

• Soil Erosion
• Decline in soil fertility
• Depletion of water tables
• Decline in rainfall
• Destruction of alternative sources of
  food and income

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Poverty, Political Crises, War and
HIVAIDS Desperation Increased likelihood of
abandoning sustainability in favour of short-term
needs Environmental Degradation
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How do you think globalization can affect food
security? Group 1 Food availability Group 2
Food access Group 3 Food use
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Solutions?

• Sustainable Livelihoods Approach
• Examining the variety of factors that affect
  ability to meet food needs including

• Sustainable intensification of agriculture
  (drought resistant crops, irrigation, tree
  planting etc)
• Diversifying food production (at agricultural
  and household level)
• Income generation (diversifying income sources)
• Challenging inequality
• Coping with broader issues (peacebuilding,
  HIV/AIDS interventions etc)

• Ability to produce food
• Ability to purchase foods
• Ability to withstand shocks to food supply
• Cultural factors influencing access within
  household

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Tree planting can help revitalize agricultural
land by increasing soil fertility, encouraging
rainfall and preventing soil erosionTrees can
also provide fuel for cooking and be an important
source of nutritious food
Solutions on the ground
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Improved agricultural practices which are
environmentally and socially appropriate can help
to improve crop yields
Solutions on the ground
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Backyard farming is a great way to diversify
household food supply and is ideal for vulnerable
households who have limited access to land and
other resources
Solutions on the ground
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Through skills training and small scale loans,
individuals can diversify their income and
protect their households from shocks to food
supply
Solutions on the ground
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A food secure world, free from hunger, really is
possible!