African Governments urged to accelerate hunger, nutrition programmes

Prime Minister of Uganda, Dr Ruhakama Rugunda has  urged African Governments to accelerate efforts aimed at dealing with high levels of hunger and malnutrition across the continent.

Speaking during the African Day for Food and Nutrition Security (AFDNS) 2015 in Uganda last week, Rugunda bemoaned that Africa continues to record some of the highest levels of hunger and malnutrition in the world.

According to Rugunda, about one-third of the continent’s population is chronically malnourished and stunted.

“Hungry people cannot be productive and this constrains a nation’s economic growth. The cost of hunger in 2013 alone showed that negligence in nutrition, has an effect on the GDP of any country,” he said

Rugunda then challenged governments in Africa to develop and accelerate initiatives to curb the problems, saying hunger and malnutrition are both causes and effects of poverty.

“We must break the vicious cycle of under nutrition and poverty that continues to move across our generations,” he added.

Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme  (CAADP) advisor on food nutrition security in the Department for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission, Laila Lokosanga said the Africa Day for Food and Nutrition serves as a rallying point in intensifying political and financial  commitments at all levels to address contemporary challenges of food and nutrition insecurity in Africa.

“Issues, challenges and options for reducing or even eliminating malnutrition in Africa are well noted, as a considerable body of reports and literature have shown.

“The cost of not addressing hunger and malnutrition, particularly undernutrition can be substantial. We want to create as much awareness as we, so that people invest in value chains of strategic and high value nutritive foods and agricultural commodities,” said Lokosanga.

The ADFNS was held under the theme, Empowering our women, securing our food: Improving nutrition.