Starvation in Africa has been a catastrophe for many years. This condition of severe suffering due to lack of good nutrition has caused loss of life so many times. Ending starvation is not a one step process. A lot has to be done in order to achieve the end result, a starvation free continent.
According to statistics in Africa, 26.7 million people are starving in Africa. Most of the countries facing starvation in Africa are those on the south of the Sahara. Children are the most affected by starvation in Africa causing a very high infant mortality rate. According to statistics, about 3.2 million children who are below 5 years old die every year due to the crisis. Starvation in Africa is caused by a number of reasons. To end this crisis, one must understand first what causes it.
Starvation in Africa
The African continent has large tracks of fertile land that can enable it feed itself. Most people assume starvation in Africa is caused by agricultural unproductive and poor climatic conditions. To some percentage, this is true but there are other several major issues that cause high levels of starvation in Africa.
- High population growth rate: the rate at which the African population is growing is too high. The growth rate is too high compared to the food production rate. This makes it difficult to produce sufficient food to meet the needs of every individual.
- Mismanagement of funds and high debt rates: most African countries are very deep in debt, Kenya for example. This is due to poor governance and mismanagement of the available resources. The African leadership structures are in such a way that they benefit the ones in authority while the people continue to live in poverty.
- Prevalence of diseases: The widespread of HIV/AIDS in Africa and other diseases such as malaria slow down the agricultural sector. Production in the agricultural sector is under performing due to a high sick population. Sick people are not able to work to feed the nation, furthermore, a lot of a country’s resources is on buying drugs and treating diseases instead of feeding the hungry.
- Conflicts and political instability: Africa countries has engaged in a lot of wars. This has been the case from the pre-colonial period and even after the colonial period. This wars result to immigration. Immigration brings about hunger and increased poverty levels.
Measures to End Hunger in Africa
A lot of research completed aims to end starvation in Africa. Some of the ways to achieve a starvation free continent are;
- Government intervention: African governments should get more involved with the agricultural production of their countries. This can work through a number of ways; governments can train their farmers on better agricultural practices that will increase productivity; the government can also help directly by providing quality fertilizers and certified seeds.
- Offer birth control education: Birth control education will help deal with the high population growth rate problem. Parents will go through education on how to ensure they only sire children they can cater for.
- Practice better farming methods: African farmers should engage in better farming practices. Better farming practices will increase agricultural productivity. Practices such as irrigation, mulching, soil and water conservation will greatly end starvation.
Conclusion
Starvation has been a major problem in Africa. Through research, Africa Continent will ultimately be free of anger and starvation with ways in place. It has been determined that Africa is very much able to feed itself. Africa is very rich in land, man power and has technology to take farming to the next level. If these works correctly, starvation will end in Africa.
