People carry food rations donated by the World Food Program (WFP) at the Malakal Protection of Civilians site in Malakal, South Sudan, June 19, 2019. (Photo by Denis Elamu/Xinhua)
HUNGER ON THE RISE
Zimbabwe is not alone in shouldering the hunger burden that continues to weigh heavily on African countries despite concerted efforts to accelerate their socio-economic transformation.
Africa remains the epicenter of hunger with the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 report indicating that out of the 2 billion people suffering from food insecurity globally, about 676 million are from the continent.
The report released in July by UN agencies attributed rising hunger in Africa to poverty, extreme weather events, conflicts and global economic volatility.
Hunger is continuing to rise steadily in almost all subregions in Africa. In Eastern Africa in particular, nearly a third of the population is undernourished, according to the report.
The eastern African region had 133.1 million undernourished people in 2018, followed by western and southern African regions that had 56.1 million and 5.3 million malnourished people respectively, the report said.
Meshack Malo, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Country Representative in South Sudan, told Xinhua that climate change, instability and underinvestment in the agriculture sector are partly to blame for the hunger crisis in Africa.
"That is why we are emphasizing that peace is fundamental to eradicate hunger in Africa," said Malo, adding that Africa requires visionary leadership and adoption of climate resilient agriculture to overcome famine.
South Sudan and Somalia, which have borne the brunt of conflicts, displacements and natural calamities, are yet to overcome hunger and malnutrition that have disproportionately affected women and children.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional economic bloc, said in early September that about 6.1 million people in South Sudan or half of the country's population and an additional 2.1 million people in Somalia were grappling with acute food shortages.
"Investments in climate adaptation, conflict prevention and sustaining peace will save lives and livelihoods, reduce structural vulnerabilities and address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition," IGAD said in a statement.
The Greater Horn of Africa that covers countries including Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti and South Sudan at the moment has an estimated 27 million people facing food insecurity, according to recent assessment by the IGAD.
