Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa - Article Example

Your Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa Food insecurity as a result of drought, famine, political instability, economical inadequacy, conflicts, and HIV has exposed 38 million African people to immediate threats of stability, security, and peace (Morris qtd. in Clover 6).This research paper analyses the article titled, “Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa” written by a researcher at Institute of Security Studies (ISS), Jenny Clover. The article was written in 2003 and published in African Security Review. The main objectives of the article are to understand the concept of food security and identify the factors that led to lack of food security in Africa in general and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Brief Summary Access to food is a basic but most violated human rights throughout the world in recent times. World Food Summit 1996 hunger reduction target proved to be a failure regardless of the fact that food production grew faster than the world population. Throughout world, about 840 million people are malnourished and most of them are in Africa (Clover 5-7).Food security is a term used for adequate access to nutritious food which is considered as acceptable in a certain culture. Chronic food insecurity affected 38 million people, and hunger claimed 24,000 lives daily in Africa during 2003.Famine is the extreme manifestation of food insecurity, among 39 countries experiencing food emergencies in world, 25 are African. However, this is the crisis that emerged in slow motion. Africas state of food emergency is a consequence of a wide range of issues which include: structural poverty; famine and drought; adverse weather conditions; civil conflicts; political and economic crises; HIV/AIDS and inadequate policy and decision making. Failure is identifying the intervening the developing issues are probably the major causes of Africa’s persistent vulnerability. In order to tackle these root causes, focusing on structural deficiencies must lead to long-term reconsideration process of food security. Moreover, WTO must restructure for active participation in poor countries. For a balanced approach in dealing with immediate food aid issues and long-term strategic plans, a multifaceted approach covering political, social, economic, and environmental factors must be devised(Clover 8-14). World Food Summit(WFS) held in 1996 established the target of reducing hungry people by at least 20 million every year during 2000-2015.Some countries have showed progress, however, annual decrease of 2.5 million is far below the level required to achieve the target by 2015(Clover 6).According to WFS chairperson, hunger must be identified as huge an issue as terrorism among international community(qtd. in Clover 6).In African continent, massive starvation has combined with HIV/AIDS and economic policy failure. The situation has exposed 38 million people to immediate threats of stability, security, and peace (Morris qtd. in Clover 6). Discussion and Analysis Human right to food is persistently emphasized by international human rights organizations and reaffirmed by the governments throughout the world.Mid-1970s food crisis diverted world’s attention to the need of working towards hunger and malnutrition. The matter is worsening with every passing day since undernourished people are consistently increasing in developing countries. An estimate in 2003 indicates that 840 million people are undernourished in 1998-2000.Amongst these 840 million, 11 million belong to industrialized countries; 30 million are from countries in transformation; and 799 million people belong to the developing world (FAO qtd. in Clover 6).UN Security Council confirmed that prevailing food crisis in Africa is a threat to its peace and security. Rome Declaration on World Food Security in 1996 defined food security as all time availability of nutritious food in both quality and quantity, with people having means and social acceptability to access it (Clover 7).Food insecurity is not limited to a country’s failure to produce sufficient food, but it’s a failure of economy to provide adequate food to household level. According to experts, food emergencies in Africa are a combination of issues which include: structural poverty; famine and drought; adverse weather conditions; civil conflicts; political and economic crises; HIV/AIDS and inadequate policy and decision making (Clover 8). Africa turned into a net importer of agricultural commodities from a key exporter (FAO qtd. in Clover 6).Moreover, they have showed the least progress when it comes to recovering from undernourishment during last 30 years. Famine is the most devastating manifestation of food insecurity. Nearly 25 countries are facing food emergencies and 24,000 lives are being claimed daily. More than 30 million people need food emergency aid in any one year. Hunger crisis that has swept across entire African continent is transformed into acute crisis because two simultaneous emergencies on regional level. Southern Africa is most severely damaged by the crisis. However, the crisis didn’t take place all of a sudden as bells have been ringing since mid-2001(Clover 6).Response to the crisis has not stabilized food security, food shortages are increasing, and emergency situations are becoming worse. Agriculture is most affected and African countries are not going to recover even with better climatic conditions. They need ongoing assistance for achieving previous levels of agriculture and health (Clover 7). Action plans for food security proved inadequate, furthermore, faulty understanding and estimates led to faulty decision making, thus lacking results (Clover 7).African fall in agricultural production is not merely due to droughts but also drought. In addition, magnitude and frequency of such extreme incidents is increasing (Clover 8).FAO research reveals that extreme weather conditions will add 30 million to the famine stricken people by 2050(Clover 8).Droughts and conflicts have a close connection. Nearly all the countries that have experienced droughts have also experienced wars and conflicts simultaneously. Widespread poverty and hunger is increasing in Africa while getting better in rest of the world. With increasing poverty, food and its security becomes even more important as ability to purchase food decreases. HIV/AIDS is not merely a health issue, but a vital component of other issues including: development, food, security, production, and life expectancy. African people are facing all other issues in the presence of structural distortions and imbalance in the regional economy. Their vulnerability to sudden economic downfall and already inadequate capacity and infrastructure make the disaster even worse. Similarly, political gimmicks leading to failure of governance; lack of accountability; opposition to democracy; ineffective handling of land reforms (in case of Zimbabwe); financial mismanagement (in case of Malawi); landmines and repressive government (Ethiopia); and landmines and collapsed infrastructure (Angola) are critical instruments that led to food crisis. The article is concise yet an informative piece on food security and African situation. The concept of food security should be introduced earlier since it informs the reader about the consequences of its absence in Africa. Clover effectively identifies the relationship of different factors, such as, poverty, conflicts, politics, economic, HIV/AIDS, and governance issues in a wider context of persistent and growing food insecurity in the region. He has used authentic and credible facts and figures in order to support the arguments. The thing which makes his work strong is the initial focus on individual factors while gradually establishing their relationship with persistent food security in a wider context. In this way, a complex incident manifests all its details in front of the reader. Conclusion In this article on food security, Clover explains the concept; emergence of food insecurity in Africa; consequences in present and future Africa; factors which led and contribute to its persistence; and contributions of international community to resolve this issue. Easy availability; easy access; and widespread affordability are the key elements of food security. The complex issue encompasses diverse range of social, political, and economic factors. Clover attributes hunger as a political issue which must be tackled politically. It is not advisable to use money for solving hunger problem in isolation since these governments may utilize it for their conflicts rather than investing into real issues leading to stable agriculture and economy. Clover rightly suggests that a more strategic approach is required for the development and implementation of policies for food security on national and international level. Work Cited Clover, Jenny. "Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa." African Security Review 12.1(2003): 5-15.Web.31 October 2010. Read More