Starvation worsens Although child mortalities have dropped, child hunger is on the rise Almost half of our population is malnourished and around 7% of our children acutely so. The global community is not on course to end hunger in line with the commitment made by many nation states to end world huger according to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) deadline of 2030.Namibia is no exception to that finding, with data from the 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI), confirming the fears that many Namibians in rural and sub-urban areas hold about the hunger and malnutrition in the country worsening.
According to the 2016 GHI, Namibia has dropped in rating since the last recorded statistics in 2008. In 2008 the hunger index stood at 29.6% and has worsened progressively by 1.8% in the last eight years, bringing the 2016 hunger index in the country to 31.4% for 2016.
The research was done by the International Food Policy Research Institution (IFPRI), Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe (WHH), which has found that global hunger figures remain distressingly high, with 795 million people still facing hunger, roughly one in four children affected by stunted growth, and 8% of children affected by wasting.
Even though Namibia and Sri Lanka stand out for having the lowest percentage reductions in GHI scores since 2000, the drop in percentage is still a cause for concern according to Dominic MacSorley, the CEO of Concern Worldwide.
“Whilst the world has made progress in the fight against hunger, there are still 795 million people condemned to facing hunger every day in their lives,” MacSorley commented. He added that “this is just unacceptable, it is immoral and shameful”.
MacSorley also added that the world in its entirety has the technologies, knowledge and resources to achieve the UN 2030 Vision of zero hunger, adding that what is missing is both the urgency and the political will to turn commitments into action.
“The statistics are shocking,” said Richard Goreseb, a youth advisor at the Khomas office of the Namibia Red Cross. Goreseb mentioned that the Red Cross continues to do what they can to alleviate the continuing hunger problem that many Namibian''s face.
Goreseb added that they are aware that the hunger situation in Namibia is still urgent, which prompted them to innovate a feeding scheme that delivers food to the needy in many communities across Namibia, including children.
The feeding programme is called “Namibians helping Namibians,” and delivers food parcels to pensioners and other vulnerable members of society, including a hoard of young, unemployed Namibians that are always ready to receive some assistance.
In Namibia, both child stunting and child wasting continue to be a major developmental obstacle with many children in the country suffering from both acute and chronic malnutrition. Child mortalities have fallen, but the prevalence of undernourishment has risen since 2000, dragging down Namibia''s overall score, according to the GHI.
According to the statistics, 42.3% of Namibians are undernourished (between 2014 – 2016), with the prevalence of acute malnutrition in children under the age of five years old standing at 7.1%, compared to the 10% recorded in the early 2000s. Both the prevalence of chronic hunger in children under the age of five, and childhood mortality of children under the age of five have dropped, with 6.5% and 1.5% respectively.
“Namibia is vulnerable to erratic rain-fall, including frequent droughts and flooding, and has experienced drought for the past two to three years, putting downward pressure on Namibia''s cereal and livestock production,” the report reads. “Also, poor harvests within Namibia and in neighbouring countries have driven up food prices according to the 2016 World Food Programme statistics.
The ambition to end world hunger is captured in the second goal of the 17 goals of the SDGs, which includes the achievement of food security, improved nutrition and sustainable agriculture as part of a comprehensive set of interwoven actions that will contribute to social justice, an end to rural poverty and improvements in people''s health and well-being.
Regionally, Africa south of the Sahara has the highest hunger level, followed closely by South Asia.
Keith Vries