Hungry

for Food Security

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 PEOPLE

ALL TIMES

SAFE & NUTRITIOUS

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

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

Proportion Undernourished By Region

0 10 20 30 40

Countri

es in

Tra

nsitio

nNorth

Afri

ca

Latin

Americ

a/Car

ibbea

nAsia

/Pac

ific

Sub-S

ahar

an Afri

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% (2002 figures)

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

Implications for Health & Development

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

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

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

Causes of Food Insecurity In Africa

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

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?

3. Food UseDoes it meet needs? Is it useable?

Natural Causes

Drought

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

Naturally occurring environmental factors leading to a decline in food production

How long does the drought last?

Was the drought expected?

How frequently do droughts occur?

Even “natural” factors are exacerbated by human actions….

Drought on its own does not result in acute food insecurity or famine.

Human EconomicsCan 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

• NGO’s like CPAR have to intervene with food aid

Human WarsWars 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

HIV/AIDS25 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

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

Poverty, Political Crises, War and HIV&AIDS

=Desperation

=Increased likelihood of

abandoning sustainability in favour of short-term needs

=Environmental Degradation

How do you think globalization can affect

food security?

Group 1 : Food availabilityGroup 2: Food access

Group 3: Food use

Solutions?Sustainable Livelihoods Approach:

Examining the variety of factors that affect ability to meet food needs including:

• Ability to produce food

• Ability to purchase foods

• Ability to withstand shocks to food supply

• Cultural factors influencing access within household

• 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)

Tree planting can help revitalize agricultural land by increasing soil fertility, encouraging rainfall and

preventing soil erosion…

Trees can also provide fuel for cooking and be an important source of nutritious

food…

Solutions on the ground…

Improved agricultural practices which are environmentally and socially appropriate can help to

improve crop yields…

Solutions on the ground…

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…

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…

A food secure world, free from hunger, really is possible!