When is the last time you went to bed hungry? Maybe some of you have before, but some children in eastern Africa are not only going to bed hungry every day, but they would be lucky if they even got more than one meal per day. As of 2017, over 4.2 million people in South Sudan were suffering from extreme hunger. Now in 2018, this number has increased by over 40% to 6 million (Krippahl). The current population in South Sudan is roughly 13 million people, which means that 46.8% of the entire population is suffering from hunger. To compare, every student in every Los Altos school and double that population would be suffering from hunger.
Going back to the African countries, South Sudan is not the only country to suffer from a famine. Somalia is also a significant country, with over half the population being affected, and the population is declining as a result of this. The famine is becoming worse overall and should be on other countries’ top priorities for help before it’s too late.
Many years ago, in 2011, a major drought happened in East Africa, which essentially acted as a catalyst for the famine, as it dramatically decreased the rate of harvest. Once this drought was addressed to the public as an event that required a lot of repairs, countries like the US started putting it on their watchlist, but still are not truly helping East Africa recover. Overall, the future of East Africa is unknown, so now is the chance to determine the future of East Africa’s famine situation and its effect on the population and economy of East Africa.
Based on the patterns of the population affected by famine in the past, the issue is becoming worse and worse. Back in 1992-3, a drought hit Africa, specifically Somalia, which created a famine where roughly 14% of the population was affected. (“‘Hidden Famine’”). Later in 2008, another census was taken on the population which showed that the famine affection percentage increased to an average of 22%. After the major drought of 2011 occurred, the percentage increased to about 50% from 43%. Clearly, famine is affecting half the population and will only continue to affect more if nothing is done.
The future of the East African economy, specifically in South Sudan and Somalia, may also decrease to a point beyond return if nothing is done about it. After the financial crisis of 2007-8, both the GDP and the GDP growth rate of both countries decreased significantly, and they are now struggling to bring it back up (Havemann). The US isn’t really helping much with the African economy. The main historical reason for this is the Monroe Doctrine, which was a guideline placed into the government in 1823 because of European imperialism. This is partially the reason that the US has not taken many actions to support Africa. The US attempted to ship commodities to Africa at low prices but eventually led to a budget cut on foreign affairs. This is proof that Africa isn’t a priority for the US (Galvin). If even the country with the highest GDP isn’t going to help Africa, it would seem every other country would follow by not helping.
The issues in South Sudan and Somalia are still attempting to be solved, but they are only ideas at the moment. Some organizations are trying to start a “green revolution”, which will basically ensure people with lower salaries enough commodities to survive (Oniang'o). As long as an idea, such as this “green revolution”, persists, countries may be able to combine resources to overall help Africa recover from famine.
Works Cited:
"'Hidden famine' in Horn of Africa puts 14m at risk." Independent [London, England], 24 July 2008, p. 122. Global Issues in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A181737805/GIC?u=los42754&xid=22a1e787. Accessed 13 Mar. 2018.
Galvin, Gaby. “'America First' May Put Africa Last.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 18 July 2017, www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-07-18/the-us-is-losing-the-battle-for-influence-in-africa.
Havemann, Joel. “The Financial Crisis of 2008.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2 Feb. 2009, www.britannica.com/topic/Financial-Crisis-of-2008-The-1484264.
Krippahl, Cristina. “South Sudan's Famine Threat Looms Large | Africa | DW | 26.02.2018.” DW.COM, www.dw.com/en/south-sudans-famine-threat-looms-large/a-42741118. Accessed Sept. 2018.
Oniang'o, Ruth. "What opportunities do we have now to end hunger in the world?" African
Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, vol. 13, no. 4, 2013. Global Issues in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A351788327/GIC?u=los42754&xid=9b7dc239. Accessed 13 Mar. 2018.
I like that you incorporated the ideas about a "green revolution" in your article. This was something that I touched on in my article, as well. My main take-away is that the famines in Africa are due to a poor economy and environmental factors.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: How has imperialism changed Africa's economy?
My favorite aspect was the hook, I thought it was very engaging.
ReplyDeleteMy main take away has the extent to the problem and how prevalent it is.
My follow up question would be about NGOs and what philanthropic groups are doing to aid the issue.
Comparing the number of deaths to the population of Los Altos - a statistic we are familiar with - makes the reader empathize more with your issue.
ReplyDeleteDo you think foreign aid is the solution to the hunger crisis
DeleteI think this is a nicely written article. You've included lots of statistics and you clearly emphasized that many countries aren't doing their part to help. My favorite aspect was how you compared the numbers to the students in LAHS because it really puts me into perspective of how many people are struggling. My main take-away is that Africa is struggling with a hunger famine and not many governments and foreign countries are taking action to help, which is really unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do believe countries should help, is it really fair to say that it should be a "priority"?
I really enjoyed your hook and use of statistics to help the reader understand the concept of hunger in South Sudan. Should other countries, private corporations, or the United Nations be the ones helping South Sudan out?
ReplyDelete