Essay on Ending African Hunger

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Mingyao Xiao
Period 1

It is a sad thing that while our culture focuses on the problems of eating too much, we hardly remember the people who go through days without anything close to being adequately fed. According to the current estimate by the UN, “24,000 die of hunger each day, 800 million go to bed hungry each night, 200 million of those under the age of five.” (Was the World Conference on Hunger a Failure? – Page 1) Hunger and poverty is especially a problem in Africa. In the world’s twenty poorest countries in regards of GCP as shown on the world list, 16 are located in Africa. According to the chart, the majority of the world’s hungriest nations are also located in Africa. It is also clear that Africa is home to many of the world’s civil unrest and strife! No doubt there is a correlation between these three issues. And if the world wants peace, it must treat the root of the problem, not its symptoms. It is clear that poverty is the root of this self-harming cycle. However, there are chances of hope. Several proposed solutions may be able to relieve Africa of its poverty, which will lead to more peace and a better life. In order to do so, some proposed solutions are to fund the planting of acacia trees as a supplementary crop alongside the farms, promote a microfinancing industry, and building new farms, and improving farms in Africa.
Prior to today, Africa has been self-sufficient with its small farms and villages. However, after the European colonization, oppression, economical exploits, bad governmental control, and nationwide instability, it led to the manifestation of many hungry nations. In Africa. This widespread and institutionalized poverty only came into being after the “Scramble of Africa.” As for the government and policy makers, it is indeed another very significant limiter to ending hunger that was born from the Scramble of Africa. The Western governments, multinational companies, world agencies, and Africa elite’s themselves created a lifestyle that is not interested or familiar with the lower class. The policies they create are not in line with the demands of the poor, further worsening the problem. However, some natural factors are in play here. Because most of Africa is only producing a few kinds of crash crops as its main economy, weather effects are amplified. Poor harvest, weather conditions, bug infestations, will all impact the economy. For example, the South Africa drought of 2011 was record breaking and sunk large amounts of people into poverty just by itself. Thirteen million victims are struggling survive after being hit. Countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti were hit especially hard. Though the situation is grim, there are some rays of hope which may change the solution in Africa.
To begin with, one possible solution is microfinancing. Microfinancing is giving loans to poorer citizens who otherwise would not be able to obtain loans. These people then take the loans and start businesses as entrepreneurs. This has already been very successful in countries such as Malawi. By increasing financial inclusion, the activity of the economy will rise as a result. Therefore, it can be quite potent in what it can do, and it addresses the problem at the root, which is good for a permanent solution. However, there are not many skilled workers in Africa. If their businesses fail, then they will not be able to repay the loans, quickly racking up expense Africa cannot lose. However, there are also other solutions that deal with the agriculture directly.
In addition, another highly effective solution is to team up with African organizations to begin creating farms and also improving farms that are already built there. This is a high risk, high reward gambit. With this help, produce will be increased, and farms will be greatly improved. The crops will then go directly to the people of Africa, which is the ideal. However, this solution is quite expensive, and if it was to ever fail on a
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