Poverty, Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa

In the 21st century, Africa has some of the highest levels of hunger and malnutrition in the world, which is incompatible with the vision of the African Union. Food and nutritional security is a fundamental right of every person. However, many Africans are deprived of this right. Reports by the FAO and WFP indicate the emergence of an acute food crisis in at least 27 countries. This crisis has escaped the attention of the general press and the political sphere in the West. Yet this is crucial for understanding the reasons behind current migration flows, as well as for stimulating the necessary solidarity interventions. Poverty and malnutrition result from uncontrolled rapid population growth, inefficient agricultural and industrial practices, the high debt profiles of many African countries due to poor governance and corruption, and diseases such as the AIDS epidemic, malaria, the Ebola virus and the current pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Other factors include poor and inadequate health infrastructure and armed conflicts. Despite an abundance of natural resources, the gross domestic product per capita of many African countries is among the lowest in the world. According to FAO data, over 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were undernourished between 2014 and 2016. The prevalence of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa increased from 181 million people in 2010 to 222 million in 2016. In 2016, Africa had the highest prevalence of undernourishment in the world, estimated at 20% of the population. Poverty is the main cause of hunger and malnutrition in Africa, while hunger and malnutrition exacerbate the problem of disease on the continent. Poverty continues to plague Africa as a result of poor economic policies, conflict, war, environmental factors such as drought and climate change, population growth, poor leadership and greed. This situation is further exacerbated by the vicious cycle of poverty, disease and illness. Whether directly or indirectly, due to inadequate food consumption and poor diet quality, it is also accountable for over half of all deaths among children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sociocultural barriers are major hindrances in some communities, with female children usually being the most affected. Corruption and lack of government interest and investment are key players that must be addressed to solve this problem. Malnutrition was highest within countries in East Africa and West Africa compared to the WHO Millennium development goals target for 2015. The system dynamics simulations forecast a rather gloomy future for the agro-food sector in SSA. Even the historically highest development rate of agricultural production will not be enough to meet the rapidly increasing demand for food.