From Africa and Asia to Latin America and the Near East, there are 805 million people in the world who do not get enough food to lead a normal, active life. The World Food Programmae downloadable Hunger Map provides information that maps the distribution of food insecurity globally.
Poverty and health
NGOs Call for Ban of Liquor Sachets in Malawi
Sangonet Pulse, 4 November 2014
Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Malawi and consumer watchdogs have demanded a total ban on the sale of liquor spirit sachets, which they blame for fueling alcohol abuse among the youth. Consumers Association of Malawi executive director, John Kapito, states that, “Malawians are poor, so the most attractive recreational drug they can afford is liquor in sachets. Sadly, these sell at less the cost of a lottery ticket.” Liquor sold in small sachets was first outlawed in the Southern African country in May of 2013, but the move was appealed by manufacturers and since then, liquor sachet sales have risen, resulting in more youth becoming dependent on alcohol – and some dying after taking too many on an empty stomach
The Global One Health Paradigm: Challenges and Opportunities for Tackling Infectious Diseases at the Human, Animal, and Environment Interface in Low-Resource Settings
Gebreyes WA, Dupouy-Camet J, Newport MJ, Oliveira CJB, Schlesinger LS, et al: PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8(11), 13 November 2014
Zoonotic infectious diseases have been an important concern to humankind for more than 10,000 years. Today, approximately 75% of newly emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are zoonoses that result from various anthropogenic, genetic, ecologic, socioeconomic, and climatic factors. These interrelated driving forces make it difficult to predict and to prevent zoonotic EIDs. Although significant improvements in environmental and medical surveillance, clinical diagnostic methods, and medical practices have been achieved in the recent years, zoonotic EIDs remain a major global concern, and such threats are expanding, especially in less developed regions. The current Ebola epidemic in West Africa is an extreme stark reminder of the role animal reservoirs play in public health and reinforces the urgent need for globally operationalizing a One Health approach. The complex nature of zoonotic diseases and the limited resources in developing countries areargued by the authors to be a reminder of the need for implementation of Global One Health in low- resource settings is crucial. This review highlights advances in key zoonotic disease areas and the One Health capacity needs.
Perceptions and experiences of access to public healthcare by people with disabilities and older people in Uganda
Mulumba M, Nantaba J, Brolan CE, Ruano AL, Brooker K, Hammonds R: International Journal for Equity in Health, 13:76, 2014
A global discussion regarding how to renew the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is underway and it is in this context that the Goals and Governance for Global Health (Go4Health) research consortium conducted consultations with marginalized communities in Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Africa as a way to include their voices in world’s new development agenda. The goal of this paper is to present the findings of the consultations carried out in Uganda with two groups within low-resource settings: older people and people living with disabilities. This qualitative study used focus group discussions and key informant interviews with older people in Uganda’s Kamwenge district, and with persons with disabilities from the Gulu region. Thematic analysis was performed and emerging categories and themes identified and presented in the findings. Our findings show that a sense of community marginalization is present within both older persons and persons living with disabilities. These groups report experiencing political sidelining, discrimination and inequitable access to health services. This is seen as the key reason for their poor health. Clinical services were found to be of low quality with little or no access to facilities, trained personnel, and drugs and there are no rehabilitative or mental health services available.
To legislate or not to legislate? A comparison of the UK and South African approaches to the development and implementation of salt reduction programs
Charlton K, Webster J, Kowal P: Nutrients 6(9), 3672-3695, 2014
The World Health Organization promotes salt reduction as a best-buy strategy to reduce chronic diseases, and Member States have agreed to a 30% reduction target in mean population salt intake by 2025. Whilst the UK has made the most progress on salt reduction, South Africa was the first country to pass legislation for salt levels in a range of processed foods. This paper compares the process of developing salt reduction strategies in both countries and highlights lessons for other countries. Like the UK, the benefits of salt reduction were being debated in South Africa long before it became a policy priority. Whilst salt reduction was gaining a higher profile internationally, undoubtedly, local research to produce context-specific, domestic costs and outcome indicators for South Africa was crucial in influencing the decision to legislate. In the UK, strong government leadership and extensive advocacy activities initiated in the early 2000s have helped drive the voluntary uptake of salt targets by the food industry. It is too early to say which strategy will be most effective regarding reductions in population-level blood pressure. Robust monitoring and transparent mechanisms for holding the industry accountable will be key to continued progress in each of the countries.
Colloquium on lone mothers, social security and dignity in South Africa
Neves D, Noble M, Ntshongwana P and Wright G: Conference and seminar papers, June 2014
In South Africa lone mothers of working age are only entitled to social assistance for themselves if they are disabled. A means-tested Child Support Grant is payable on behalf of their children but, though important, it is small in amount and is not intended to contribute to the caregiver's living expenses. In the context of South Africa’s Constitution which declares that ‘everyone has the right to have their dignity respected and protected’ and that access to social security is to be progressively realised, this project explored the meaning of dignity in lone mothers' lives and the extent to which social security protects or erodes their dignity. The themed reports of the project cover the definition of lone motherhood in South Africa, the impact of poverty and inequality on lone mothers in South Africa and social security and the dignity of lone mothers in South Africa.
The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report What's in it for Africa?
Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014
The Fifth Assessment Report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds, beyond reasonable doubt, that the Earth’s climate is warming. Climate change will have widespread impacts on African society and Africans’ interaction with the natural environment. Since the 1950s, the rate of global warming has been unprecedented compared to previous decades and millennia. The Fifth Assessment Report presents a long list of changes that scientists have observed around the world. Since the mid-19th century, the average increase in the temperature of the Earth’s surface has been 0.85 degrees Centigrade(°C). Sea levels have risen faster than at any time during the previous two millennia. In many regions, including Africa, changing rainfall or melting snow and ice are altering freshwater systems, affecting the quantity and quality of water available. The IPCC finds that there is 95% scientific certainty that human activity, by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. The impacts of climate change will affect food security, water availability and human health in Africa significantly. Given the interdependence between countries in today’s world, the impacts of climate change on resources or commodities in one place will have far-reaching effects on prices, supply chains, trade, investment and political relations in other places. Thus, climate change will progressively threaten economic growth and human security.
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014
Food and Agriculture Organisation: New York, September 2014
The 2014 edition of The State of Food Insecurity in the World was released this month. SOFI 2014 presents updated estimates of undernourishment and progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and World Food Summit (WFS) hunger targets. The 2014 report also presents further insights into the suite of food security indicators introduced in 2013 and analyses in greater depth the dimensions of food security – availability, access, stability and utilization. In addition, the 2014 report examines the diverse experiences of seven countries, with a specific focus on the enabling environment for food security and nutrition that reflects commitment and capacities across four dimensions: policies, programmes and legal frameworks; mobilization of human and financial resources; coordination mechanisms and partnerships; and evidence-based decision-making.
Cultivating unemployment: Can agriculture create jobs in South Africa?
Neves D: Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies: 20 March 2014
Cultivating Unemployment takes a hard look at the realities of rural economies in South Africa and begins to grapple with the policy implications of these realities. The video shows the challenges and difficulties involved in creating rural economies that can multiply benefits for rural dwellers.
Opportunities and Challenges in Tanzania’s Sugar Industry: Lessons for SAGCOT and the New Alliance
Sulle E, Smalley R and Malale L: Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, Future Agricultures, Policy Brief 76, 1 August 2014
Sugarcane outgrower schemes are central to several policy and donor strategies for driving agricultural growth and reducing poverty, including the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor project in Tanzania (SAGCOT). But field research into the outgrower component of Kilombero Sugar Company, Tanzania’s largest and best regarded sugar producer, demonstrates a pressing need for change. Sugarcane production in Kilombero has had benefits for farming households as well as the local and national economy. However, unsustainable expansion and governance issues in the outgrower scheme have created new risks. There are pressures on food security as a result of a decline in land for food crops, and on incomes, particularly when outgrowers’ cane remains unharvested and farmers’ payments are delayed. These problems have been aggravated by the importation of foreign sugar into the country. For this industry to provide its maximum benefits to the economy and to the household, a policy, legal and institutional framework is needed that provides greater efficiency, accountability and transparency, as well as greater security for all participating stakeholders. There are lessons for the sugar industry, as well as donors and investors of ongoing and future agribusiness developments in Tanzania.