Report Terms Food Crisis Alarming, Ranks Kenya Among the Worst

October 15, 2009

by Peter Orengo

Food situation in Kenya has been described as "alarming".

The Global Hunger Index placed Kenya among the world's most food deficient countries.

The report by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe ranks countries on a 100-point scale with 0 being the best score, but Kenya had only 20.1 per cent. In ranking the country is placed 29th in the world among the countries with poor food security.

Releasing the report in Nairobi yesterday, IFPRI representative, Mr Surash Babu, described Kenya as a hotspot on hunger vulnerability because of the perennial droughts and insecurity.

"The world has been dealing with the food security since 1976. But today close to 900 million people are still food insecure and Kenya is placed among the dark section," said Surash. Food security World Vision International President Kevin Jenkins talks to Ms Anna Anene before he distributed relief food to residents of Marulem in Turkana, on Wednesday.

Democratic Republic of Congo was ranked the worst followed by Burundi, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Chad and Ethiopia. Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya were identified as the countries in Africa that have shown consistency in food security.

Conflicts, climate change and poor policies are blamed for the hunger in countries with food insecurity.

The index ranks countries based on child malnutrition, child death rates and calorie deficient population.

"It said high rates of hunger are strongly linked to gender inequalities, especially in terms of literacy and access to education," Surash said.

In Kenya, the report gives special mention of the rural residents and the urban poor in the slums. The report says the two groups need nutritional interventions because of droughts and the global financial crisis.

Anne O'Mahony of Concern Worldwide said: "There is no term to describe the water scarcity in Kenya although it receives sufficient rains. Only four per cent of rainwater is used while 96 per cent is left to flow to the ocean. The Government needs to do much more to correct this."

In Korogocho, where Concern Worldwide Kenya has worked since 2002, about 150,000 people live in an area of 1.5km2, making it one of the most densely populated slums in the city.

As a result, 3.5 per cent of children suffer from acute malnutrition and 37.9 per cent from chronic malnutrition.

Gender inequality

In addition to inadequate access to affordable foods, a poor health environment, and low coverage of health services, the survey showed poor childcare practices were underlying cause of malnutrition in the slum.

According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which helped author the report, hunger is also related to gender inequality. "In rural Kenya, 75 per cent of women are doing much work but with the ongoing drought, they have been weakened from looking for water. Furthermore, men are able to move to towns leaving their wives behind making them vulnerable," said O'Mahony.

The study, therefore, encouraged women to acquire education and look for work to earn their own income.

This would increase their influence in making decisions about buying of food, health care, and other essential needs for their children.

"The silent hunger crisis — affecting one sixth of all of humanity — poses a serious risk for world peace and security," said FAO Director Jacques Diouf in the report.

Source: The Standard