Mortality rates for children under age five have declined in Africa south of the Sahara since 2000, thanks to a better prevention of malaria, a greater share of births in medical centers, improved antenatal care, access to clean water and sanitation facilities, and increasing levels of income. However, a recent released report shows that the hunger level in Africa remains at an “alarming” level in Africa.
IFPRI’s 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI) reports that Africa made progress on the fight against hunger: the 2013 GHI score is 23 percent lower than the 1990 score in Africa south of the Sahara and 28 percent lower in North Africa and the Near East. Some African countries, including Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Niger and Rwanda, achieved great improvements in reducing hunger.
But the situation is still disturbing. With 19 countries in the world that suffer from “extremely alarming” or “alarming” hunger, 15 of them are African countries. The three countries with extremely alarming hunger situation are all from Africa: Burundi, Comoros, and Eritrea. Mostly due to prolonged conflict and political instability, these three countries have more than 60 percent of their population undernourished, the highest rate in the world.
Mali, Sierra Leone, and Somalia have the highest under-five mortality rate, ranging from approximately 18 to about 19 percent.
In the Sahel, a fragile area suffering from recurrent crises like sporadic rainfall, locust infestation, crop shortages, and high and volatile food prices, food and nutrition insecurity weakened the region’s resilience to shocks. In addition, livestock have become vulnerable to diseases as a result of inadequate feeding. The conflict in northern Mali, growing insecurity in northern Nigeria, and migration pressure have exacerbated the situation.
Some large-scale programs that explicitly aim to build resilience have been founded, including the Global Alliance for Action for Drought Resilience and Growth in the Horn of Africa and the Global Alliance for Resilience in the Sahel (AGIR-Sahel). Under CAADP agenda, a framework for African Food Security (Pillar III/FAFS) was developed as a tool for initiating in-country and inter-country dialogue in search of sustainable solutions to Africa’s food insecurity and hunger.
Looking ahead, the report called for a collaborative effort to build resilience to protect and improve poor and vulnerable people’s ability to respond to shocks and changes. This requires consensus on the concept of resilience, ability to monitor and evaluate the existing vulnerabilities and the impacts of resilience-building activities, as well as political dialogues among all stakeholders.
Read more about CAADP Pillar III Framework.