A Lot More to Complain About

A Lot More to Complain About

Many people in our society today often complain about not having enough makeup, not enough phone storage, or not enough money to spend. Not often do we hear complaints about lack of access to nutritious food, or starvation in our communities. Unfortunately, this is a sad reality in many countries of East Africa. It is tragic that the inability to obtain basic foods is a norm which has caused over 11 million people to starve and be malnourished.

Food insecurity in Africa didn’t happen overnight. This issue has been built up over a long history of poor climate and government failure which has led to a severe crisis of famine and malnourishment. The capricious climate has caused a drought which stunted agricultural production (“Minister”). The high food costs due to government mismanagement are preventing people from being able to afford food to grow or eat (MacGregor). Both of these components have lead to the downfall of Africa’s food supply and overall well being. The relief from famine, hunger, and malnutrition is contingent on a country's ability to feed their people quantitatively and qualitatively (“African”). However, the unpredictable climate and the political instability of countries in the Horn of Africa, specifically Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan, have impeded the human right to food of millions of African people.

Mother nature has not been kind to the countries of East Africa, confronting them with droughts, floods, desertification, and more. The poor climate has destroyed livestock and agricultural land, eradicating the ability to grow food. The variation in rainfall patterns has slowed the growth of agriculture, which can be blamed for the food shortages (“Minister”). Furthermore, the increasing desertification of the Horn of Africa is caused by the encroachment of the Sahara desert, and this alarming development has caused the degradation of agricultural drylands (“World”). East African regions are now arid and difficult to farm in and produce food in. Without an adequate climate to enable food security, the people of Africa are deteriorating and the political instability of these countries are only making matters worse.

The government in many East African countries are unstable and have caused economic mismanagement. The government plays a role in the spread of famine and malnourishment because the economic and governmental failures prevent people from access to basic food items (“Famine”). The weak land control prevents land access for small agribusiness and it interrupts agricultural operations (“Africa”). Additionally, the widespread corruption hinders countries from reaching out to the countries and aiding them. The state of lawlessness and extremism from militarist groups leads to the failure of food aid reaching the affected regions (“World”). For example, the ongoing civil war in South Sudan and Ethiopia have caused foreign countries to avert their food aid (“Famine”). The combination of governmental failures and civil unrest induces the consequences of famine.

In 2004, a Green Revolution was launched to make land more productive and ensure food security by improving crops and agricultural production. Although the government has had a cutback in state support for seeds, fertilizers, and machinery, the government now wants to set up irrigation systems to adjust to the unpredictable rainfall and additionally buy seeds and distribute them to the famine-stricken regions (MacGregor)(“Minister”).  Furthermore, countries have been pledging aid and money, but the conflicts in Africa make the delivery dangerous and difficult (“African”). Although food assistance is extremely beneficial to Africa’s long-term famine, improvements in agriculture and government will ultimately make the bigger difference. But for now, Africa truly has a lot more to complain about than we do in our modernized society.

Works Cited

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"Africa Risks Famine." Africa News Service, 8 Sept. 2017. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

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MacGregor, Karen. "Deadly African famine puts 10 million at risk." Globe & Mail [Toronto,
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http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A30404997/GIC?u=los42754&xid=c3a61432. Accessed 7
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"Minister Blames Famine On Climate Change." Africa News Service, 8 July 2009. Global Issues in
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Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

"World failed Somalia..." Gulf Daily News [Manama, Bahrain], 24 July 2011. Global Issues in
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Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.