Maat: On Africa Day, more than 600 million Africans suffer from lack of nutrition
Okeil: African governments must strengthen the role of institutions and good governance to avoid risks of food insecurity
Sayed Gharib: Indicators warn that some 25.3 million people will be facing acute food insecurity by mid-2022
Nutrition and food security in Africa, its current and escalating human variables and the effects of COVID-19, among other burdens, made it necessary to confront undernutrition and accelerate the efforts to combat it. Africa reported low indicators in nutrition, as 965 million people, or 75% percent of the global population, were undernourished.
All this came in a study issued by Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights entitled "Food Security in Africa and its Transformations during the First Quarter of 2022... An Evaluative Vision", on the sidelines of Africa Day, which African countries celebrate on May 25 to mark the anniversary of the foundation of the African Union, which was established to find solutions to the challenges facing Africa.
The study provided an evaluative vision of the African Union theme for the year 2022 on enhancing flexibility in nutrition and food security in the African continent. According to the study, despite the growing efforts of the African Union which focuses on nutritional sustainability, more than 25%, or 346 million face a food security crisis such as Mauritania and Burkina Faso in the west to Somalia and Ethiopia in the east. Malnutrition rates are still remarkably high in all African regions, especially in Eastern Africa, which includes 7 million people suffering from food insecurity, including 5.5 million children suffering from severe malnutrition with 1.6 million children in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
Commenting on the study, Ayman Okeil, the international human rights expert and President of Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights, added that in the context of celebrating Africa Day, and at a time when we are facing the challenges and repercussions of Covid-19, only 9 out of 54 African countries are on the right track to reduce undernourishment to 5% or less by 2025, which is an alarming indicator that requires African countries to activate legal, political and human rights obligations related to food and link nutrition systems to universal health coverage, including sustainable food systems, drinking water supplies, and social protection systems.
Okeil called on all African countries to strengthen the role of institutions and good governance to avoid the risks of food insecurity and its serious health consequences, and to make room for partnerships with stakeholders, civil society and the private sector to play their developmental and social role in terms of nutrition and food security by providing aid, food investments and nutrition education for everyone.
On his part, Sayed Gharib, a researcher at the African Affairs and Sustainable Development Unit at Maat, pointed out that expectations warns that some 25.3 million people will be facing acute food insecurity by mid-2022. Ghareeb stressed the importance of cooperation and solidarity of African countries and increasing food and health investments in order to raise the levels of health and treatment response to malnutrition, obesity and wasting, especially towards the most vulnerable groups of refugees, displaced persons, migrants, women and children in all African countries.
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