Two noteworthy events happened in December 2022. The football world Cup was played in Qatar. Traditionally the World Cup is played every four years in June/July, summer months for Europe, but too hot a time to play in Qatar.
The second event was the Christmas holiday, celebrated as always since around 800AD on December 25. These events happened against a backdrop of continued war in Ukraine since early 2022 and closer to home the severe famine in the horn of Africa, that is Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. The rains have failed for five consecutive seasons.
During a famine, it is children who suffer the most. It is children that carry the long-term burden of famine. Unecef estimates that more than 20 million children in the region face the threat of severe hunger and disease.
A malnourished child is weak and unable to fight infection. Equally, a child with an infection is often unable to eat and digest food properly and therefore becomes weak. Some die. Among all children under five who die, malnutrition is the underlying cause in 50 per cent of the deaths. But death is not the only consequence of starvation among children.
Often when the Horn of Africa is mentioned, we Kenyans relax. The horn, like that of a rhino, is for ‘them’ to sort out. It is their problem. Ukraine seems closer than the Horn of Africa. But the Horn includes Kenya.
The Red Cross of Kenya estimates that more than 4 million Kenyans in 23 counties are hungry. About 800,000 Kenyan children face malnutrition. The standard response is to appeal and raise money. Is that really enough? Famine, as we well know, is not a natural disaster; it is caused by a failure of government to provide adequately for citizens. As Kenyans, we should be very upset. Here is why.
The signs of malnutrition depend on whether it is acute or chronic. In January, many affluent people go on a diet, an attempt to lose weight and look smaller. Because their problem is the availability of too much food, many fail within three weeks. Their failure is acute.
The problem the children are facing in the Horn of Africa is food is unavailable. The children, especially those under five years, lose weight and when measured are underweight for age. Give them a balanced diet in this acute phase and most will recover.
But if the problem persists for months, then it becomes chronic. At which point in addition to being underweight and wasted, the children’s height is stunted. They may never achieve their full height potential. It gets worse.
If the children are under two years, when brain development is most rapid, then cognitive impairment may occur. Experts always use big words to describe the process of poor brain development. When the brain does not develop fully in the first two years of life it cannot be reversed later. Remember we are in our fifth season of failed rains. Here is the tragedy that is unfolding.
Children who are malnourished as infants, and do not die, likely grow up into stunted adults. On average they will spend three years less in school. That is, they do not go beyond primary school. Concentration in class is tough even though they may no longer be hungry.
The lack of schooling and poverty means that they make poor life choices. They eat poorly and have children early. Their own children have a greater chance of being malnourished. This is the double burden of malnutrition, where there is an obese adult in the same house as a stunted child, a phenomenon common in Nairobi county but not uncommon elsewhere. In fact, everywhere.
In Kwale 30 per cent of children are stunted, in Machakos and Kitui 23 per cent. The news report is that children in 23 counties are hungry right now, that is they do not get enough food every day. The malnourished child of yesterday becomes a short fat adult with reduced cognitive ability in a house with underweight malnourished children.
The United Nations' SDG Target 2.2 seeks to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Kenya subscribes to these universal goals, but so far after the campaigns of the general election, there has not been a clear and visible plan by government, even a public relations visit to an unfolding tragedy. The response to the crisis should be led by government at a high level.
If you have read till this point then some homework, have you noticed in these global summits how short many African leaders are? Especially compared to their western counterparts. Should you be worried?
Senior lecturer, health systems, UoN