Challenges
Hunger can be acute, chronic or hidden. Roughly 30 million Africans are acutely malnourished. These victims of poverty, emergencies and natural disasters are a desperately vulnerable population at high risk of disease and death. But they represent only a small proportion of the hungry. Perhaps 170 million Africans, suffer chronic malnutrition, caused by constant and recurring food and nutrition insecurity. Although individually at less risk, the scale of devastation, the absolute number of deaths, disease and lost human and productive potential is far greater. It is estimated that while 10% of childhood deaths are attributable to acute malnutrition, chronic malnutrition is linked to more than half of all childhood deaths.2 Similarly, hidden hunger, deficiencies in key vitamin an minerals, impact 2/3rd of Africans - most of whom consume sufficient calories and protein. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies result in a number of acute or clinical impacts - birth defects, blindness, child and maternal deaths. However, these represent the tip of an ice-berg. The sub-clinical manifestations such as stunted growth, reduced physical and cognitive development, lower school and work performance represent the bulk of the devastating consequences.
[From Food Security]Illness depletes stored nutrients, interferes with utilization of nutrients in food, and often suppress appetite raising nutrient requirements from the diet. For example, people living with HIV require up to 30% more calories and higher levels of many vitamins and minerals. Lack of food, physical hardship and emotional stress suffered by people in emergencies result in severe malnutrition which cannot be addressed through normal foods.
[From Food Security]If the past 15-year trends continue, malnutrition will become more widespread and severe. Accepting this devastating status quo is tantamount to accepting continued humanitarian crisis and economic decline for Africa. Much of this enormous burden can be prevented through the application of low cost technologies, delivery of basic services, communication of simple behaviors, and investment of modest resources. The challenge is capitalizing on the promise of these interventions with effective implementation.
[From NEPAD Nutrition Concept Note]
Causes of Malnutrition. Concept taken from NEPAD Nutrition Concept Note.
Illustrations of the Underlying Causes of Malnutrition
Health
- Infection and disease severely deteriorate nutritional status of individuals with otherwise sufficient nutrient intake.
- Diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDs or parasites raise nutritional needs and interfere with the ability to utilize nutrients.
- During the life cycle, there are windows of exceedingly high need that cannot be met by typical daily diets
Care & Feeding Behavior
- Often women and young children do not eat until the males are finished. With the little remaining in the family pot, they
have little chance of meeting their nutritional requirements. - Young women are not aware of the value of breastfeeding or how proper feeding can protect their babies
Food Security:
- Availability and access to sufficient quantity and quality of affordable food is limited by a number of factors in
production, distribution and utilization in the home. - Diets are usually very limited, with a preponderance of basic starches and a lack of vegetables, fruit and other higher
value nutrients– resulting in micronutrient deficiencies
Retarded by Vitamin Deficiencies
OK, “mentally challenged”. When I grew up those kids were called “retarded”. The causes were varied, from Downs Syndrome to heavy metal poisoning.
We now know some of the causes: lead in the water pipes in old houses and paint in those same houses, which children ate as paint chips, slowed mental development. We also know the lead pipes can be replaced, the lead paint removed. Sometimes the mental damage can be remediated. Usually not.
We also know that deficiency of vitamins and minerals, often in very small, trace amounts can slow mental development. When a child does not get enough iodine or Vitamin A or any of a number of aspects of their mental development is slowed, technically, retarded. These children do not develop mentally as fully as they might. Their mental, intellectual development ends up retarded.
Vitamins and minerals are very cheap to deliver, usually cents per child per year. Pennies. As in 3 cents per child, per year.
Same phenomenon
One: we know about the causes. When I was a kid, we just thought the slow kid, you know, Joey, was slow because he was born that way. His parents were not too bright, either. Turns out he – they all - had lead poisoning that severely reduced their mental functioning. But for the grace of God, there go I. I grew up in old houses not far from Joey.
Two: we know how to prevent the problem. Give kids vitamins. Test the water they drink for heavy metals. Bangladeshi wells often have toxic levels of arsenic. This is not simply a problem “over there”. Half the wells in the county next to mine, in Tazewell County , in Central Illinois , contain toxic levels of arsenic. (When we found out about the arsenic we initiated testing wells in our county, in case you were wondering.)
Three: Cost. Vitamins and minerals are very cheap to deliver, usually cents per child per year. Pennies. As in 3 cents per child, per year.
The bad news: Not all countries have micronutrient campaigns with their vaccinations, let alone a campaign of routine vitamin supplements for children or adults.
The Rest of the Story: Our local health department had the pipes in houses like Joey's tested and replaced. How do I know? I got to play with the lead pipes they threw away in the trash. I remember vividly how cool it was to play with hunks of lead pipe. You take some pipe and hit a tree with it and it bends. You can bite it and leave teeth marks! Build a fire and you can just watch the pipe melt real easy. Drops splatter on the ground, like drops of water, only silver. The smoke stinks though…. (Disposal of hazardous materials came later).
last updated 25 May 2006