Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - On the eve of World Food Day the goal of halving number of people in the world who are undernourished and suffer from connected diseases by 2015 is still a mirage.
There are still 840 million people in the world who suffer from hunger and higher number lack micronutrients. Each year more than 6 million children die of malnutrition and lack of iron, iodine or vitamin causes brain damage, retarded growth and blindness.
Africa is the continent, which pays the highest price with regard to world hunger. One third of its people are undernourished. In effect Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world with the higher proportion of starving people: 40% of the total population and 20% of pregnant mothers die for lack of iron.
An Italian foundation, AMREF African Foundation for Medicine and Research, which works to promote Africans’ right to health the only possible approach involves many sectors. For example improving farming techniques and productivity and economic independence with micro-credit initiatives for subsistence farmers. The Foundation is already doing this in Kibwezi, Kenya, a country frequently affected by food shortage due to bad management of resources and government and also difficult access to water.
In fact AMRA has started programmes to guarantee water supplies in the arid Makueni district where selling coal is the only resource left now that tree felling has caused deforestation and soil impoverishment make the situation of farmers even worse.
In Africa hunger is often a direct consequence of the many wars which go unnoticed by the rest of the world. (AP) (15/10/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:33; Parole:393)
