Namibia's hunger pangs lessen
The percentage of undernourished people in Namibia has dropped from 35.8% to 28.8% since 1992.
Good progress has been made over the past 25 years to reduce Namibia's hunger levels by 27%, the Global Hunger Index shows.
According to the latest index released this year, Namibia's score is 25.7 compared to 1992 when it stood at 35.4.
This means that the hunger position has improved from being classified as “alarming” to “serious”.
According to the index, Namibia is ranked 87th out of the 119 countries covered in the report. The country's score was 30.8 in the year 2000 and 30.9 in 2008, while last year it scored 31.4.
Compared to other countries in Africa, South Africa has a hunger score of a mere 13.1 and it is ranked 55th globally. It means its hunger situation is “moderate”.
Kenya has a score of 21 and is ranked 70th on the global list. Kenya's score has dropped by 44% since 2000, moving the country from “alarming” to “serious”, verging on “moderate”.
But Zambia's situation remains one of the worst, ranked 115th out of the 119 countries measured. It scored 38.2, placing it in the “alarming” category.
According to the report, the percentage of undernourished people in Namibia between 1991 and 1993 was 35.8%. This has dropped to 28.8% for 2014 to 2016.
During the same period the prevalence of wasting in children younger than five decreased from 9.6% to 7.1%, while the prevalence of stunting in the same age group dropped from 35.7% to 23.1%.
According to the index, the under-five mortality rate also decreased from 7% to 4.5% during the same period.
The report stresses that despite years of progress, food security is still under threat.
“Conflict and climate change are hitting the poorest people the hardest and effectively pitches parts of the world into perpetual crises. Although it has been said that hunger does not discriminate, it does. It emerges the strongest and most persistently among populations that are already vulnerable and disadvantaged,” the report says.
According to this year's scores, the level of hunger in the world has decreased by 27% from the 2000 level.
It says the regions of the world struggling most with hunger are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with scores in the “serious” range (30.9 and 29.4, respectively).
“Even as the average global hunger level has declined, certain regions of the world still struggle with hunger more than others, disadvantaged populations experience hunger more acutely than their better-off neighbours.”
According to the report, sub-Saharan Africa has a higher child mortality rate and struggles more with undernourishment, reflecting overall calorie deficiency for the population.
It says undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa has remained virtually the same in 2014–2016 (at 21.6%) as in 2007–2009 (at 22.0%), and currently it constitutes the highest regional undernourishment rate in the world.
Rising food prices, droughts and political instability contributed to this stagnation.
Economic growth, particularly in certain sectors of the economy such as agriculture, and investment, especially in public services such as health and education, have helped some countries in the region to reduce their undernourishment levels.
Countries with a score of below 9.9 in the index are regarded as having low hunger levels; 10.0 to 19.9 moderate; 20.0 to 34.9 serious; 35 to 49.9 alarming and a score above 50 are extremely alarming. The only country scored above 50 this year was the Central African Republic (50.9) which was rated the worst of all the countries.
ELLANIE SMIT
According to the latest index released this year, Namibia's score is 25.7 compared to 1992 when it stood at 35.4.
This means that the hunger position has improved from being classified as “alarming” to “serious”.
According to the index, Namibia is ranked 87th out of the 119 countries covered in the report. The country's score was 30.8 in the year 2000 and 30.9 in 2008, while last year it scored 31.4.
Compared to other countries in Africa, South Africa has a hunger score of a mere 13.1 and it is ranked 55th globally. It means its hunger situation is “moderate”.
Kenya has a score of 21 and is ranked 70th on the global list. Kenya's score has dropped by 44% since 2000, moving the country from “alarming” to “serious”, verging on “moderate”.
But Zambia's situation remains one of the worst, ranked 115th out of the 119 countries measured. It scored 38.2, placing it in the “alarming” category.
According to the report, the percentage of undernourished people in Namibia between 1991 and 1993 was 35.8%. This has dropped to 28.8% for 2014 to 2016.
During the same period the prevalence of wasting in children younger than five decreased from 9.6% to 7.1%, while the prevalence of stunting in the same age group dropped from 35.7% to 23.1%.
According to the index, the under-five mortality rate also decreased from 7% to 4.5% during the same period.
The report stresses that despite years of progress, food security is still under threat.
“Conflict and climate change are hitting the poorest people the hardest and effectively pitches parts of the world into perpetual crises. Although it has been said that hunger does not discriminate, it does. It emerges the strongest and most persistently among populations that are already vulnerable and disadvantaged,” the report says.
According to this year's scores, the level of hunger in the world has decreased by 27% from the 2000 level.
It says the regions of the world struggling most with hunger are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with scores in the “serious” range (30.9 and 29.4, respectively).
“Even as the average global hunger level has declined, certain regions of the world still struggle with hunger more than others, disadvantaged populations experience hunger more acutely than their better-off neighbours.”
According to the report, sub-Saharan Africa has a higher child mortality rate and struggles more with undernourishment, reflecting overall calorie deficiency for the population.
It says undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa has remained virtually the same in 2014–2016 (at 21.6%) as in 2007–2009 (at 22.0%), and currently it constitutes the highest regional undernourishment rate in the world.
Rising food prices, droughts and political instability contributed to this stagnation.
Economic growth, particularly in certain sectors of the economy such as agriculture, and investment, especially in public services such as health and education, have helped some countries in the region to reduce their undernourishment levels.
Countries with a score of below 9.9 in the index are regarded as having low hunger levels; 10.0 to 19.9 moderate; 20.0 to 34.9 serious; 35 to 49.9 alarming and a score above 50 are extremely alarming. The only country scored above 50 this year was the Central African Republic (50.9) which was rated the worst of all the countries.
ELLANIE SMIT
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