We Must Address Child Poverty Urgently

from All Africa

New Vision (Kampala)

The 3rd African Child Policy Conference was held recently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme "Child Poverty in Africa".

The event comes at a time when several African children are living under extreme poverty.

Africa has been hard hit by the ever rising food prices. Most African children are bearing the brunt of the rise in food prices resulting from poor agricultural policies and practices.

Many children in northern and north-eastern Uganda are starving and several others malnourished. Over 50% of the children in the war-affected region survive on only one meal a day, which compromises their health.

In Karamoja, the majority of the children have turned to eating rats, a tradition that was abandoned many years ago because of its dangers on personal health.

In Teso, children are surviving on mangoes. What are these children likely to become in future?

In Ethiopia, the situation is running out of hand. With a population of 77 million people of whom 52% are children and 2 million born each year, the rising food prices are disastrous.

The population cannot afford basic food stuffs due to the surging commodity prices given that Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries on the continent.

It has been struggling with the effects of a year's drought. This has not only affected the health of children but has also affected the energy sector as load shedding is the order of the day, consequently affecting food prices.

There are 6 million Ethiopian children who are starving and another 26,000 who are malnourished, most of them from Ogaden, the capital city of Ethio-Somali state.

According to Samson Dessie, the Ethiopia nutrition officer at UNICEF, malnutrition is mainly a consequence of rising food prices amidst a population that cannot afford a descent meal a day.

He also attributed it to the ongoing war between the government troops and the rebels in the area that has affected farming in the area.

The World Food Programme says it needs $147 m to curb this disaster. It adds that they have for long supported the country to come out of this situation but need the support of other stakeholders.

In 1974, several Ethiopia children slowly and painfully starved to death. There was a repeat of this situation in 1984 which was due to failure of rains and left hundreds dead from starvation.

African governments should control food prices and end suffering in children. They should invest in model farms, which would and serve as national food centres where food can be bought cheaply.

They should also develop a culture of storing surplus food items in preparation for disasters. This food can then be brought to the market during food shortages and sold at low prices to check on unfair prices.

Food flown across borders should also be regulated. The food produced in western and central Uganda is flown to South Sudan and eastern Congo for higher profits.