Hunger Kills in Ethiopia, Africa

A Research Paper Presented to

Dr. Teresita V. Buenvenida
Mapua Institute of Technology

in partial fulfilment
of the requirements in
Sociology with Population Education
(SS11)

by
Regine Nicole L. Bonafe
Jasmin Claire A. Felipe
Joselle Mariz A. Joya

February 2014
According to the Africa Hunger and Poverty Facts (2012), The UN Food
and Agriculture Organization estimates that 239 million people in subSaharan Africa were hungry/undernourished in 2010 (its most recent
estimate). 925 million people were hungry worldwide. Africa was the
continent with the second largest number of hungry people, as Asia and the
Pacific had 578 million, principally due to the much larger population of Asia
when compared to sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa actually had the

largest proportion of its population undernourished, an estimated 30 percent

in 2010, compared to 16 percent in Asia and the Pacific (FAO 2010). Thus
almost one in three people who live in sub-Saharan Africa were hungry, far
higher than any other region of the world, with the exception of South Asia.
In general, the principal causes of poverty are harmful economic
systems, conflict, environmental factors such as drought and climate change,
and population growth. Poverty itself is a major cause of hunger. All are very
important as causes of poverty and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa.
Poverty is the principal cause of hunger in Africa and elsewhere.
Simply put, people do not have sufficient income to purchase enough food.
Conflict and drought, for example, are certainly important causes of hunger,
but the most typical situation is that people just do not have enough income
to purchase the food that they needthey could be starving in some slum
somewhere, for example. One of the places that are largely affected by this
situation is in Ethiopia, Africa.
Over the past decade, Ethiopia has taken important strides towards
reducing its high levels of hunger and malnutrition. Nutrition interventions
aimed at mothers and children together with programmes to boost
agriculture have left millions of Ethiopian families healthier and better able to
feed themselves.
The Cost of Hunger in Africa analyzes the impact of hunger across 12
countries in Africa. It was carried out with the support of the African Union
Commission, a body which includes the New Partnership for Africas
Development, the UN Economic Commission for Africa and WFP.
However, the lasting effects of malnutrition still weigh heavily on the
Ethiopian economy, as new research shows. The Cost of Hunger in Africa
report estimates that undernutrition costs the country billions of dollars
every year in lost worker productivity. Here are 10 of its key findings.
1. Today, more than 2 out of every 5 children in Ethiopia suffer from
stunting, which means they're short for their age. Stunting is a lifelong
condition that results when children miss out on critical nutrients while
in the womb or during the first five years of their lives.
2. As many as 81% of all cases of child undernutrition and its related
pathologies go untreated.
3. 44% of the health costs associated with undernutrition occur before
the child turns 1 year-old.
4. 28% of all child mortality in Ethiopia is associated with
undernutrition.
5. 16% of all repetitions in primary school are associated with stunting
6. Stunted children achieve 1.1 years less in school education.
7. Child mortality associated with undernutrition has reduced Ethiopias
workforce by 8%
8. 67% of the adult population in Ethiopia suffered from stunting as
children.

9. The annual costs associated with child undernutrition are estimated

at Ethiopian birr (ETB) 55.5 billion, which is equivalent to 16.5% of GDP.
10. Eliminating stunting in Ethiopia is a necessary step for its growth
and transformation.
Though Ethiopias economy has grown quickly in recent years, many of
the countrys most vulnerable citizens have not experienced the benefits of
this financial upturn and remain dependent on international aid. Some five
million Ethiopiansas well as thousands of refugees fleeing drought and
violence in neighboring countriesface a wide array of humanitarian
challenges, including escalating food prices and persistent drought that
threaten their food security.
In 2011, severe drought crippled the Horn of Africa. Widespread
drought left more than 13 million people in Ethiopia and surrounding
countries in desperate need of help. Thousands of families affected by
drought and conflict sought refuge in Ethiopia. These families arrived at
refugee camps malnourished and dehydrated, with no possessions or means
to provide for themselves.
Organizations like Action Against Hunger started working in Ethiopia in 1985
to help communities through severe drought and food shortages, and we
continued that work during this most recent food crisis. In 2011, we helped
463,000 Ethiopians. In 2012, the said organization treated more than 22,000
child refugees for severe malnutrition, boosting treatment regimens for
children who werent responsive to traditional care methods. We opened a
daycare center in one of the camps and provided daily meals for families. We
also supported communities surrounding the camps to help the region cope
with the burden on its natural resources after the arrival of hundreds of
thousands of refugees.
Though the worst of the crisis in the Horn of Africa has passed, there is
still much work to be done. Communities are still recovering, and the refugee
camps still hold thousands of displaced people in need of care.
But still there are a lot of volunteers who are continuously helping
these vulnerable populations regain access to proper nutrition, safe water,
and sustainable livelihoods.

REFERENCES:

Hungry children in Africa http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=DJjJ5WB3izg
Somalia Drought and Hunger http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=JdPFZVIthcU
Still Complaining? (The Rich and The Poor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9pNeT55U_c
Africa Hunger and Poverty Facts
http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/africa_hunger_facts.htm
10 things Everyone should Know About Hunger in Ethiopia
http://www.wfp.org/stories/10-things-everyone-should-know-abouthunger-ethiopia
Action Against Hunger (ETHIOPIA)
http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/africa/ethiopia

Bonafe, Regine Nicole L.

Hunger Kills in Ethiopia, Africa

How would you feel if your body slowly turns on you, devouring the
cells that make up your very being? What would you do if you were so weak
that you couldnt even hold a loved one in your arms? How would you feel if
you couldnt think straight because the pain of hunger was so intense? What
would you do? Starvation results in a series of devastating events that can
ultimately lead to death.
Hunger kills many Africans. Since hunger has become known in Africa,
there has not been one solution to quell this recurring issue. The majority of
the countries within the continent of Africa face the issue of hunger. Ethiopia
has been, and continues today to be, one of the many victims of hunger.
Ethiopia has experienced hunger as a major issue since the 1970s.
Although it is not a present danger to most of the people in Ethiopia day
after day, many Ethiopians go without food at least once a week. Even
though many propositions had not worked well, or had been effective enough
to end this predicament, there are still many other ways of effectively
terminating hunger. There is no one key solution to the end of hunger. Each
country throughout the world has various reasons on why or how hunger
started, or is occurring in their country.

Felipe, Jasmin Claire F.

Hunger Kills in Ethiopia, Africa

Our country Philippines is very lucky to have rich resources of food and
beverages. We have a rich soil to have rice fields and other food crops to
plant with and to be used as a food source. But in the other part of the world,
Africa, they are not that lucky to have resources. Their weather is not
appropriate to plant crops that can be used as another food source aside

from the animals that they used to hunt. Hunger increases in the country of
Africa due to the shortage of food and also of the proper hygiene that they
have. It is sad to say that even though their country is very big and they
have enough space to live. They do not have enough food to eat and
improper nutrients. And as a result malnourished child exist. Food is one of
the most important need of each human in this planet. Without it human
cannot be able to survive and live to fullest that they wanted. And so
because of the scenario in Africa especially in Ethiopia, food is the most
precious thing that they have. And as a person that lucky to have all the food
resources and can be able to eat any food that I want at any time and any
place.it is a must to give importance to the food that we eat and not to waste
food. And most importantly is to give thanks that we are not as unlucky as
country Ethiopia.

Joya, Joselle Mariz A.

Hunger Kills in Ethiopia, Africa

How lucky we are, we have companion in all the time, we can buy
what we want, and we can eat what we want yet many of us are not satisfied
with all what we have. Our life is very different from the people in Ethiopia,
Africa. Looking their body, very thin and I can say that our arms is just their
legs, see how malnourished they are.
This video is not a common poverty, where hunger always
strikes and they dont even eat because their place is uncivilized, the land
was very dry that caused the shortage of food and even water. Their life span
is 57 but only few of them reached that age because many of them die in
early age due to severe hunger. Aside from that, the people in Ethiopia are
not educated they do not know how to write and read. Starvation and the
unchecked spread of deadly diseases continue, the numbers of people dying

on a daily basis throughout Africa is staggering. At the heart of these issues

is a loss of knowledge about agricultural practices and indigenous varieties.
Without adequate global assistance to people or areas in need,
many young and growing minds will be impacted; thus limiting the full and
equitable contributions we might expect from the next future generation.