Famine in Africa

Help All You Want Imagine a small African family in Zimbabwe, a small child’s mother and father work the fields but due to further hunger are too weak to even stand up, let alone go out into the fields and work. This has started an entire chain reaction in the community. Since the child’s mother and father cannot go out into the field and harvest food, another family goes hungry, and then another and another, continuing on a path spiraling downwards.

Now imagine this same family, but a stable government has been established in Zimbabwe, the child’s mother and father are both well fed because the food distribution organizations are well funded, your parents go out into the fields and harvest the crops, creating another chain reaction but with a positive spiral. This is an example of how food distribution plays a major role on famine and also how stable governments affect the food distribution in Africa.

Most studies on the famine epidemic throughout Africa state that HIV/AIDS plays a major role in famine; this can be attributed to lack of health care in the continent which can be established if governments were established. Stable governments may also play a role in fighting rebel or terrorist like groups that steal food from the people and commit mass genocide. Stable governments also may regulate food distribution to families in need and also regulate the amount of food that is distributed, making the portions fair, depending on the size of the family.

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Some people believe that by just simply throwing money into the economy of Africa or by simply supplying food to the people of Africa will turn it all around. Although this may help, it will not completely fix the problem. This is due to the fact that the money will run out and the food will be used up in a matter of time. The familiar culprits of drought and mismanagement of national strategies are implicated; however, this crisis is distinct from conventional drought induced food shortages with respect to those vulnerable to starvation, and the course of impoverishment and recovery.

It is proposed that these new aspects to the food crisis can be attributed largely to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region. This information is provided to us in the article, “New Variant Famine: AIDS and Food Crisis in Southern Africa” by Alex De Waal and Alan Whiteside. “Millions Facing Drought and Famine throughout Africa” by Barry Mason, reports that aid agencies show that many areas in Africa are currently facing drought and threat of famine (Mason 1).

In East Africa, some 11 million people are suffering a drought that is the worst in a decade and will mean that food aid is urgently needed over the next six months. The countries affected stretch from the Horn of Africa throughout Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique (Mason 1). This article is an example of those people in the world that believe that this is the main point fixing the famine pandemic. “Famine Mortality: A Case Study of Darfur, Sudan,” by Alex De Waal presents the results and analysis of a survey of mortality undertaken in the villages of the Darfur Region of Sudan in 1986.

It illustrates a number of important aspects of famine mortality, and provides the only basis on which to estimate famine mortality for this region (De Waal 1). In 1983, the harvest failed in Northern Darfur, and in 1984, it failed in both northern and southern Darfur. Lack of pasture also led to the deaths of about half the livestock in the region (De Waal 1). Healthcare in Africa plays a major role in the famine epidemic sweeping through parts of the continent. Lack of a stable government can be blamed on lack of healthcare.

Healthcare plays such a major role in the famine epidemic, due to the fact that research has proven that HIV/AIDS weakens and kills the farmers that would plant, take care of, and harvest the crops that would provide food to the communities. According to some reports, the African famine is a clear example of the impact of HIV/AIDS. The loss of life and health care costs are traditionally associated with the disease. More than 14 million people are now at risk of starvation in many countries throughout the continent.

All of these predominantly agricultural societies are battling serious AIDS epidemics, with more than 5 million adults currently living with HIV/AIDS in these countries. Out of a total adult population of some 26 million, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a huge contributor. Malaria and other diseases that can be vaccinated against are also not taken care of and play a major role in famine, this is because of the absence of hospitals or doctors. No other infectious disease, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, inflicts a more devastating economic toll, keeping whole populations trapped in poverty.

This healthcare problem could be taken care of if there were a government present, but since there is no government, or the government is not very stable, the pandemics continue and the people of Africa continue to get sick and die, unable to product food, the famine epidemic just gets worse. In other areas, not just that of the healthcare issue, is a contributing factor in the famine epidemic. News reports on the continent of Africa also state that there are many rebel groups in certain areas that are killing the people in some regions and also taking what little food the people have.

Spreading fear throughout the people causes them to work less, or in some cases not at all. The mass genocide of the workers is also contributing to the lack of food in the most hard hit areas. With a more stable government, these groups could be weakened if not destroyed altogether, reassuring the work force and also creating a rise in the size of the workforce. This is the reason a more stable government plays a more pivotal role in famine. In “Blame Policy, Not Nature,” by Ann Gibbons, only one region of the world still suffers from widespread famine.

This region is Africa. Why is that?. After all, many poor countries including India and China, have staved off famine in recent decades, even though starvation was common there earlier in the century (Gibbons 1). The conventional wisdom holds that the answer is a combination of droughts, deforestation, and war. The drought part of this theory is what I am sure first comes to mind with all of us, it’s Africa. The deforestation part of this theory is caused by the ever growing population and need for more land to create cities.

Last on the list of three in this theory is war (Gibbons 1). War is part of the popular opinion that there is a need for a stable government in Africa; the wars in Africa are not between countries but between rebels fighting for control of some areas. These rebel groups exist because either the government in the area is too weak, or there is no government in place in that area (Gibbons 1). Many governments that have tried to rise up from the ground on their own have just been destroyed and overrun by the rebel groups.

Without outside help from surrounding countries in Africa, which is not likely considering they have their own problem to deal with, or help from other countries across the world, for example the United States, these small governments trying to get on their feet will just continue to be overrun and destroyed, further devastating the local communities and worsening the famine epidemic. Just another reason stable government is badly needed throughout Africa. On top of the healthcare and rebel groups, perhaps the highest contributing factor in the famine epidemic going on in Africa is food distribution.

Since food distribution is the highest contributing factor in the famine epidemic, the government has a huge role in this area. A stable government would be, and is absolutely crucial to the controlled distribution of food to the people. Not only could a stable government control the amount of food distributed, but it could also make wise decisions on the amount of food given to each family, depending on size and need of food by those people. Food distribution impacts the African societies immediately, but without the proper funding necessary to keep the distribution programs running, it is just a lost cause.

By establishing stable governments, the distribution programs would have better funding and be able to continue the surges of food into the communities. There are many theories and opinions floating around out there on how famine in Africa can be reduced. Many studies show that a very vital factor in reducing the famine in Africa start with a stable government, one that can establish a working healthcare system that will lessen the effect HIV/AIDS has in the communities.

Governments that can halt the rebel groups and make the people feel safe to go into the fields. Finally, a government that can set up well funded food distribution with equal distribution of food, just to give the communities of Africa that jump start they need to get back on the right path. These are but a few of the reasons that famine in Africa can be reduced, starting with the establishment of more stable governments throughout the continent.

According to the article, “Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses and Prevention” by David Colman, most famines in the last 25 years have been in Africa. Most people in the world, therefore, confine attention solely to it, with a particular emphasis on Ethiopia and Sudan. The article by Colman sets out to increase understanding of famine, provide extensive empirical evidence on all aspects of causes of famine, household responses to it, market behavior in times of famine, and policy initiatives, and to assess famine prevention policies and their performance in the real world.

In the article “Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses, and Prevention” by Joachim Von Braun, Tesfaye Teklu, and Patrick Webb, it is explained that famine in Africa makes an important contribution to a better understanding of the causes of hunger in developing societies, while also providing the most thorough assessment to date through a synthesis of empirical research of policies implemented to prevent and mitigate famine in poor countries (Von Braun 1). On the basis of findings from six African countries in particular, the authors argue against single-cause explanations f famine, this including the opinion of some that an unstable government is the cause of the famine (Von Braun 1). There are many different opinions and theories in which people believe that famine in Africa can be reduced, many of which include, in some way or another, the fact that government is needed I those areas. Most of those theories or studies on the famine epidemic throughout Africa also state that HIV/AIDS plays a major role in famine. These theories all agree with each other while at the same time disagree with each other, so you could say they agree to disagree.

However, they are all theories on how to help the people of Africa and stop the famine pandemic from spreading. The main opinion of most people throughout the world on the subject of reducing the famine pandemic in Africa is that stable government is needed. Stable government would provide better food distribution to the people, better healthcare, and would provide safety to the people by protecting them from the rebels of the areas and also the surrounding areas.

These ways all combined from the theory that stable government is needed, as believed by many people, which is how famine in Africa can be reduced. Works Cited Colman, David. “Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses and Prevention. ” Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 1 Feb 2000, Web. 7 Oct. 2012. De Waal, Alex, and Alan Whiteside. “New Variant Famine: AIDS and Food Crisis in Southern Africa. ” Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 11 Oct 2003, Web. 8 Oct. 2012. De Waal, Alex. “Famine Mortality: A Case Study of Darfur, Sudan. ” Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, Mar. 1989. Web. 10 Oct. 012. Dibie Roberty. “Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa. ” Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 12 Nov. 1998. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. Gibbons, Ann. “Famine: Blame Policy, Not Nature. ” Academic Search Elite. EBSCO, 8 Nov. 1991. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. Mason, Barry. “Millions Facing Drought and Famine throughout Africa. ” World Socialist Web Site. 23 Feb. 2006. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. Von Braun, Joachim, Tesfaye Teklu, and Patrick Webb. “Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses, and Prevention. ” Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 1 Dec. 1999. Web. 8 Oct. 2012.

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