Food Security is a multidimensional issue and deserves a central place in national development plans.
Category: Agriculture
By: Emmanuel Wa-Kyendo,
Introduction
The President’s administration intends to take action on the National concerns that are healthcare, food security, manufacturing and housing. (Olick & Kisika, 2018). According to the pronouncement, Kenya will be made 100% food secure in 5 years. This is the first in a two part series wherein I explain why prioritizing food security is important and then argue that the administrations’ goal may be a too ambitious for one election cycle.
Food Security Defined
Food security is defined around the parameters of food availability, food access and food utilization. Food availability is an evaluation of the factors that affect the supply of food. Food access is an evaluation of the physical and economic access to food. The food utilization component assesses the nutritional quality and health-safety of food. (World Food Programme, n.d.)
Food insecurity is a household level socio-economic condition whose occurrence is measured by its persistence through a period of time. Malnutrition is a physiological condition whose occurrence is dependent on the length and persistence of episodes of food insecurity. Food insecurity may not result in hunger or malnutrition; two interchangeable terms. (Wunderlich & Norwood) (World Food Programme, n.d.).
Food security cuts across multiple dimensions of a society impacting productivity in both knowledge and physically intensive activities. A well-nourished population endows a nation with a cognitively healthy population who can be educated and increase the knowledge capital.
Hunger on the Continent
Ending world hunger is the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) set by the United Nations as recently as 2015. (United Nations, s.d.). In Africa, the battle against food insecurity rages on.
As far back as 1993, the Organization of African Unity was holding plenary sessions on continent wide strategies to bolster African food security. Efforts were unsuccessful considering that the number of those affected by hunger and malnutrition continued to rise on the aggregate. (African Union, 1993) (African Union, 2003).
That malnutrition was a multi-departmental issue was not a widely held belief. By launching the Cost of Hunger in Africa Study (COHA), The African Union (AU) sought to present facts that made it difficult to continue holding that belief. (African Union , s.d.)
African nations incur an annual economic cost of malnutrition ranging from 1.9% to 16.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It has been cited to have costed the Kenyan economy $1 billion in 2010; (Muturi, 2016). By interpreting in economic terms, the burden that malnutrition inflicts on a nation, COHA was designed to be understood by all key policy makers. The costs incurred are socio-economically pervasive, manifesting themselves in health, education and the quality of the workforce.
The Cost of Hunger
The cost of hunger study measures the economic cost of malnutrition in health, education and loss in potential workforce productivity.
From the moment a malnourished child is born, the cost of malnutrition ripples through the economy and society. Healthcare costs inflicted on public and private health occur before a child has turned 1. A paltry 1 in 5 children have access to treatment against the malady. In addition to being underweight, malnourished children suffer from diarrhea, fever and anaemia, treatment of which is a burden to the public and private sector in terms of healthcare costs.
Research has shown that from birth, a 1000 day window period permits caregivers to avert undernutrition. This is an important indication as to where public health resources could be channeled; ground zero of the affliction that is malnutrition. Those who are left untreated will suffer physical and cognitive underdevelopment that manifests itself in low school and workplace performance.
Stunted children complete 0.2 to 3.6 years less schooling than do their well-fed compatriots. A less educated workforce cannot participate in highly technical work. A physically weak populace is also not as well equipped to participate in physical labour. A further 1-13.7% of the potential workforce is wiped out due to child mortality resulting from malnutrition. (African Union, s.d.) (African Union , s.d.)
Estimates of the Cost of Hunger in Kenya are difficult to come by. The Cost of Hunger in Africa Study has been carried out in ten African countries including the eastern African nations of Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The AU led study is to be undertaken in Kenya in the near future.
Conclusion
COHA has illustrated that the effects of hunger – a symptom of food insecurity- is felt in many areas of life. The consequences of food insecurity are costly; labour intensive industries will lack strong bodied individuals to fill the workforce; a nation will lack the brains to fuel knowledge intensive industries. It is in the interest of Kenya to give food security a central place in its development plans.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has found its tanks too small and its military materiel undersized for today’s fully grown military age Chinese; a positive externality of economic growth and an illustration of the potential impact of a reversal in undernutrition and an increase in food security. (Fisher, 2014).
Bibliography
- African Union . (s.d.). Cost of Hunger in Africa. Consulté le January 31, 2018, sur Conceptual Framework: www.costofhungerafrica.com
- African Union. (1993). Resolution on the African Regional Food and Nutrition Strategy. Declarations and Resolutions Adopted by the Twenty-Ninth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Cairo. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur http://www.au.int
- African Union. (2003). 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security. Second Ordinary Assembly of the African Union. Maputo. Récupéré sur http://www.nepad.org
- African Union. (s.d.). Key Findings from the Cost of Hunger in Africa Study. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur Cost of Hunger in Africa: www.costofhungerinafrica.com
- Fisher, M. (2014, 2 18). Chinese Soldiers are Getting Too Big for their Tanks. The Washington Post. Consulté le 2 9, 2018, sur https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/02/18/chinese-soldiers-are-getting-too-big-for-their-tanks/?utm_term=.73ba5feaead0
- Haltiwanger, J. (2018, January 11). America is so Out of Shape and Fat, its Putting U.S. Army Soldiers in Danger. Newsweek. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur http://www.newsweek.com
- Muturi, F. (2016, August 22). Investing in Nutrition Key to Progress. The Standard. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur http://www.adatum.com
- Olick, F., & Kisika, S. (2018, January 24). Uhuru Hunts for Experts, Cash to Roll Out Big Four. The Star. Consulté le January Thursday, 2018, sur the-star.co.ke
- Roeder, T. (2017, October 15). Too Fat to Fight: Colorado Nonprofit says Military Threatened by Childhood Obesity. Denverpost. Consulté le January 31, 2018, sur http://www.denverpost.com
- The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2018, February 5). EIU Global Food Security Index 2016 – Findings and Methodology. The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. London, England. Récupéré sur www.foodsecurityindex.eiu.com
- The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2018, February 5). Global Food Security Index 2017. London, England. Récupéré sur www.foodsecurityindex.eiu.com
- United Nations. (s.d.). Sustainable Development Goals. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur United Nations: www.un.org
- World Food Programme. (s.d.). What is Food Security? Consulté le January 31, 2018, sur World Food Programme: www.wfp.org
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Food Security is a multidimensional issue and deserves a central place in national development plans.
| Post date: Tue, Feb 27, 2018 |
| Category: Agriculture |
| By: Emmanuel Wa-Kyendo, |
Introduction
The President’s administration intends to take action on the National concerns that are healthcare, food security, manufacturing and housing. (Olick & Kisika, 2018). According to the pronouncement, Kenya will be made 100% food secure in 5 years. This is the first in a two part series wherein I explain why prioritizing food security is important and then argue that the administrations’ goal may be a too ambitious for one election cycle.
Food Security Defined
Food security is defined around the parameters of food availability, food access and food utilization. Food availability is an evaluation of the factors that affect the supply of food. Food access is an evaluation of the physical and economic access to food. The food utilization component assesses the nutritional quality and health-safety of food. (World Food Programme, n.d.)
Food insecurity is a household level socio-economic condition whose occurrence is measured by its persistence through a period of time. Malnutrition is a physiological condition whose occurrence is dependent on the length and persistence of episodes of food insecurity. Food insecurity may not result in hunger or malnutrition; two interchangeable terms. (Wunderlich & Norwood) (World Food Programme, n.d.).
Food security cuts across multiple dimensions of a society impacting productivity in both knowledge and physically intensive activities. A well-nourished population endows a nation with a cognitively healthy population who can be educated and increase the knowledge capital.
Hunger on the Continent
Ending world hunger is the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) set by the United Nations as recently as 2015. (United Nations, s.d.). In Africa, the battle against food insecurity rages on.
As far back as 1993, the Organization of African Unity was holding plenary sessions on continent wide strategies to bolster African food security. Efforts were unsuccessful considering that the number of those affected by hunger and malnutrition continued to rise on the aggregate. (African Union, 1993) (African Union, 2003).
That malnutrition was a multi-departmental issue was not a widely held belief. By launching the Cost of Hunger in Africa Study (COHA), The African Union (AU) sought to present facts that made it difficult to continue holding that belief. (African Union , s.d.)
African nations incur an annual economic cost of malnutrition ranging from 1.9% to 16.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It has been cited to have costed the Kenyan economy $1 billion in 2010; (Muturi, 2016). By interpreting in economic terms, the burden that malnutrition inflicts on a nation, COHA was designed to be understood by all key policy makers. The costs incurred are socio-economically pervasive, manifesting themselves in health, education and the quality of the workforce.
The Cost of Hunger
The cost of hunger study measures the economic cost of malnutrition in health, education and loss in potential workforce productivity.
From the moment a malnourished child is born, the cost of malnutrition ripples through the economy and society. Healthcare costs inflicted on public and private health occur before a child has turned 1. A paltry 1 in 5 children have access to treatment against the malady. In addition to being underweight, malnourished children suffer from diarrhea, fever and anaemia, treatment of which is a burden to the public and private sector in terms of healthcare costs.
Research has shown that from birth, a 1000 day window period permits caregivers to avert undernutrition. This is an important indication as to where public health resources could be channeled; ground zero of the affliction that is malnutrition. Those who are left untreated will suffer physical and cognitive underdevelopment that manifests itself in low school and workplace performance.
Stunted children complete 0.2 to 3.6 years less schooling than do their well-fed compatriots. A less educated workforce cannot participate in highly technical work. A physically weak populace is also not as well equipped to participate in physical labour. A further 1-13.7% of the potential workforce is wiped out due to child mortality resulting from malnutrition. (African Union, s.d.) (African Union , s.d.)
Estimates of the Cost of Hunger in Kenya are difficult to come by. The Cost of Hunger in Africa Study has been carried out in ten African countries including the eastern African nations of Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The AU led study is to be undertaken in Kenya in the near future.
Conclusion
COHA has illustrated that the effects of hunger – a symptom of food insecurity- is felt in many areas of life. The consequences of food insecurity are costly; labour intensive industries will lack strong bodied individuals to fill the workforce; a nation will lack the brains to fuel knowledge intensive industries. It is in the interest of Kenya to give food security a central place in its development plans.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has found its tanks too small and its military materiel undersized for today’s fully grown military age Chinese; a positive externality of economic growth and an illustration of the potential impact of a reversal in undernutrition and an increase in food security. (Fisher, 2014).
Bibliography
- African Union . (s.d.). Cost of Hunger in Africa. Consulté le January 31, 2018, sur Conceptual Framework: www.costofhungerafrica.com
- African Union. (1993). Resolution on the African Regional Food and Nutrition Strategy. Declarations and Resolutions Adopted by the Twenty-Ninth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Cairo. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur http://www.au.int
- African Union. (2003). 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security. Second Ordinary Assembly of the African Union. Maputo. Récupéré sur http://www.nepad.org
- African Union. (s.d.). Key Findings from the Cost of Hunger in Africa Study. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur Cost of Hunger in Africa: www.costofhungerinafrica.com
- Fisher, M. (2014, 2 18). Chinese Soldiers are Getting Too Big for their Tanks. The Washington Post. Consulté le 2 9, 2018, sur https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/02/18/chinese-soldiers-are-getting-too-big-for-their-tanks/?utm_term=.73ba5feaead0
- Haltiwanger, J. (2018, January 11). America is so Out of Shape and Fat, its Putting U.S. Army Soldiers in Danger. Newsweek. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur http://www.newsweek.com
- Muturi, F. (2016, August 22). Investing in Nutrition Key to Progress. The Standard. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur http://www.adatum.com
- Olick, F., & Kisika, S. (2018, January 24). Uhuru Hunts for Experts, Cash to Roll Out Big Four. The Star. Consulté le January Thursday, 2018, sur the-star.co.ke
- Roeder, T. (2017, October 15). Too Fat to Fight: Colorado Nonprofit says Military Threatened by Childhood Obesity. Denverpost. Consulté le January 31, 2018, sur http://www.denverpost.com
- The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2018, February 5). EIU Global Food Security Index 2016 – Findings and Methodology. The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. London, England. Récupéré sur www.foodsecurityindex.eiu.com
- The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2018, February 5). Global Food Security Index 2017. London, England. Récupéré sur www.foodsecurityindex.eiu.com
- United Nations. (s.d.). Sustainable Development Goals. Consulté le January 25, 2018, sur United Nations: www.un.org
- World Food Programme. (s.d.). What is Food Security? Consulté le January 31, 2018, sur World Food Programme: www.wfp.org
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Introduction The matatu metaphor can be used to analytically frame Kenya’s budget as a system that is subject to binding constraints, evolving expectations, and continuous adjustment to shocks. Like the matatu sector, fiscal policy reflects a balancing act between efficiency and quick action seeking to respond to public service delivery while constrained by competing sector […]
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Kenya’s proposed post-2030 Vision commits the country to high-income status “within a generation.” One positive issue that should be emulated is that the document seeks to solve the most important policy decision and the foundational problem in economics, which is to expand output and labour. Skeptics ask the most important question, why would this plan […]
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