Low graphics   |   Mobile      Login   |   About us      
Tue, 1 Dec 21:32:15 GMT17

 
African hunger

Last reviewed: 11-11-2009

THE NEVER-ENDING CRISIS


A woman carries water past empty granaries in the village of Madoufa in northwestern Niger, August 2005. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
A woman carries water past empty granaries in the village of Madoufa in northwestern Niger, August 2005. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
About 265 million people are chronically malnourished across sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Millions without the means to sustain their way of life
  • Rising food and transport costs

    Despite years of emergency and development aid, underlying problems such as poverty, HIV/AIDS and climate change remain unsolved. Traditional social organisations and welfare systems capable of looking after the most vulnerable are collapsing under the weight of extreme poverty combined with explosive rates of HIV infection.

    Soaring food costs have exacerbated the situation for the poorest, especially the urban poor, and pushed more people closer to the edge of emergency.

    Increasingly, organisations such as the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation are saying aid should be provided in the form of cash or food coupons rather than food shipments, which can affect producers and markets in recipient countries and distort international trade.

    In the search for solutions, the debate over hunger in Africa continues to attract a complex range of intersecting and often contradictory opinions, theories, interests and ambitions. It is also characterised by an almost complete lack of global consensus as to what needs to be done about it.


    Unlike some other content on this website, the written content in this article may be republished or redistributed by any means free of charge. Any use of photographs and graphics on this website is expressly prohibited. You must check whether written content contained in other articles on this website may be republished or redistributed without the express permission of Reuters or the relevant third party provider.

    • Related articles

    Breaking stories
     Africa SWAZILAND: Floods wash away the drought

    Africa In Brief: Markets critical to food security in Sahel

    AlertNet insight
     Africa Food crisis looms around eastern Sahel in Africa -WFP

    Aid agency news feed
     Africa Ethiopia: Shoots of life in drought-ravaged land

    Blogs
     Africa Why boosting food output is not enough to beat hunger

    Maps
     Africa SOMALIA Southern Area


    AlertNet for journalists

    AlertNet for journalists is a set of tools and services designed to make life easier for reporters, fact-checkers and editors when covering humanitarian emergencies.
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-12-01T172417Z_01_JMG07_RTRIDSP_2_SPAIN-SAHARA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JMG07.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-12-01T171552Z_01_JMG06_RTRIDSP_2_SPAIN-SAHARA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JMG06.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-12-01T165633Z_01_JMG03_RTRIDSP_2_SPAIN-SAHARA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JMG03.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-12-01T165157Z_01_JMG02_RTRIDSP_2_SPAIN-SAHARA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JMG02.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-12-01T164913Z_01_JMG01_RTRIDSP_2_SPAIN-SAHARA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JMG01.htm

    Prominent Western Sahara independence campaigner Aminatou Haidar smiles during her hunger strike at Guacimeta airport, on Lanzarote in Spain's Canary Islands December 1, 2009. Haidar has been on hunger strike since ...


    More pictures | Galleries

    * Denotes mandatory entry      Rate this item *  
    • Currently 4/5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5


    Name: *     Email: * 
    I am: *     


    Comments:

    Enter the code shown on the left *




    URL: http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/AF_HUN.htm

    For our full disclaimer and copyright information please visit http://www.alertnet.org