| Netchap internet directory home » Health Directory » Nutrition » Malnutrition in Africa | |||
Malnutrition in Africa | |||
|
The Dark Continent, as Africa was known as, has continued to charm millions of people all over the world. African culture is one of the richest in the world, as well as one of the oldest. This beautiful land has been ravaged by a continuous series of man made as well as natural disasters and as a consequence the inhabitants of the land have faced, and still continue to face one disaster after another. Food shortage is a common outcome of all these crises, and even if its is evil it is sold at exorbitant prices in the black market. This is one of the primary reasons for malnutrition in Africa. In the nations of Ethiopia, Angola, Liberia, Somalia, and Sudan there are famines as well as internal conflicts. There are a lot of ethnic massacres as well as political massacres in these regions. As a result millions of men, women and children die to starvation and malnutrition. Other than the ravages of civil war, and diseases like AIDS, Malnutrition in Africa is the biggest killer of human beings. To combat Malnutrition in Africa, the AFRONUS (Africa Council for Food and Nutrition Sciences) was created, in the year 1988. In fact it was in the 1980s that the food crisis in Africa reached its peak. You will be shocked to learn that more than five million children died in the year 1984. The deaths were due to malnutrition.
The organization aims at creating realistic plans so that a certain target may be met. Major concerns like anemia, vitamin A deficiency, and iodine deficiency need to be tackled. Injections to prevent malnutrition related disorders are also being imported from the developed nations of the world. Iodine deficiency causes diseases like goiter, cretinism, mental retardation, and general ill health. Malnutrition is also responsible for miscarriages, and still born babies, in pregnant women. Malnutrition is one of the causes for the high infant mortality rate in Africa. Those affected by vitamin A deficiency suffer from disorders like blindness. Lack of proteins in the diet is also responsible for numerous health disorders. However, the Achilles heel of programs created by organizations like AFRONUS is that Africa is heavily dependent on external sources. Foreign aid plays a major role in the affected regions. Also the over whelming influence of the local warlords plays a major role in hampering the implementation of programs that have been designed to combat starvation and malnutrition in Africa. Click on the links of netchap.com to learn more about nutrition related concerns all over the world. |
|||
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
