Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 23. August 2004 / Timeline August 23, 2004
Version 3.522. August 2004, 24. August 2004
08/23/2004
Third of Africans Undernourished
By Jonathan Katzenellenbogen, International Affairs Editor
Business Day (Johannesburg) NEWS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200408200244.html
UNDERNUTRITION is Africa's most fundamental development problem and
the problem is getting worse.
That is the conclusion of a report released this week by the
International Food Policy Research Institute, a Washington based
think-tank which is part of a global network of agricultural
research bodies.
According to the report, a household is regarded as being "food
secure" if it has reliable access to sufficient quantity and
quality of food for its members to enjoy a healthy and active
life.
More than a third of Africa's population is undernourished and more
than 30% of babies are born underweight.
While the prevalence of undernutrition has come down from nearly
35% between 199092 to about 33% in surveys conducted between 1999
and 2001, the number of people that are undernourished has risen by
nearly 33-million, or 20%.
About a third of African children suffer from stunted growth and
will therefore have to face physical and learning problems, says
the report.
The report draws its data from United Nations surveys on nutrition,
but as there are none of these conducted in SA, the report does not
present any statistics on undernourishment in the country. But it
does show that 25% of children in South Africa suffer stunted
growth, a consequence of malnutrition, compared with 39% for
sub-Saharan Africa.
Wars are a significant cause of Africa's food problems, as are
negative shocks such as droughts, floods, and economic
downturns.
The report, Africa's Food and Nutrition Security Situation,
Where Are We and How Did We Get Here?, says that policies to
ensure that people have enough to eat should be a far greater focus
of development policy. It says that goal is hampered by low
incomes, such that even if agricultural productivity rises there is
no effective demand to make investments by farmers profitable.
But the author, Todd Benson, who has extensive experience as an
agricultural policy adviser in Malawi, says that food and nutrition
security are necessary to begin development.
By helping foster maternal and early childhood health, food and
nutrition security make it easier for people to become productive
through their lives and break out of a poor health and poverty
trap.
The report says that opening national markets to trade, improved
education, direct intervention to improve nutrition, and greater
emphasis by governments on agriculture can improve nutrition.
North Africa is the only region in Africa that can be considered
food secure, in part due to its wealth based on oil.
Copyright © 2004 Business Day.
08/23/2004
International Crisis Group - Darfur Deadline
One week before the UN Security Council deadline for Sudan expires,
it is clear the international community needs to get much tougher
over Darfur. Failure now would not only mean many tens of thousands
more dead in Darfur, but likely condemn Sudan to more years of war
and further spread instability to its neighbours.
Darfur Deadline: A New International Action Plan
http://www.icg.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=2920
The latest report from the International Crisis Group, calls for
the Security Council to adopt more forceful measures, most
importantly to authorise the African Union (AU) to send a strong
peacekeeping mission -- at least 3,000 troops, preferably many more
-- to Darfur to protect civilians. To demonstrate its seriousness
and help persuade the Government of Sudan to accept this mission,
it should also impose an arms embargo on it and targeted sanctions
against responsible regime officials and ruling party businesses,
as well as establish an International Commission of Inquiry to
investigate mass atrocities.
Such steps are immediately necessary because, despite dramatically increased international attention on Darfur, Khartoum has still not fulfilled its repeated commitments to neutralise the government-supported Janjaweed militias responsible for gross human rights violations and the massive humanitarian disaster. History has shown that Khartoum responds constructively to direct pressure, but it must be concerted, consistent and genuine.
"All we've heard so far are empty promises from Khartoum and empty threats from the international community", says John Prendergast, Special Adviser to the President at ICG. "The world spotlight has finally come to Darfur, but the action needed to end the killing hasn't followed".
 |
 |