Nutrition and Food Scarcity
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Nutrition within Tanzania remains a persistent problem and varies hugely throughout the country's regions. USAID reports that 16% of children are underweight and 34% experience stunted growth as a result of malnutrition.[1] 10 regions house 58% of children suffering from stunted growth while 50% of acutely malnourished children can be found in 5 regions.[2] Over a 5 year period, the Mara district of Tanzania saw a 15% reduction in stunting in children under 5 years old, falling from 46% to 31% in 2005 and 2010 respectively. Dodoma, on the other hand saw a 7% increase in the prevalence of stunting in this age group, rising from 50% in 2005 to 57% in 2010.[3] Overall availability of food does not necessarily contribute to overall stunting figures. Iringa, Mbeya and Rukwa regions, where overall availability of food is considered acceptable still experience stunting incidences in excess of 50%. In some areas where food shortages are common such as in the Tabora and Singida regions, stunting incidences remain comparatively less than those seen in Iringa, Mbeya and Rukwa.[3] The Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre attributes these discrepancies to variance in maternal malnutrition, poor infant feeding practices, hygiene practices and poor healthcare services.[3] Periods of drought can have significant impacts on the production of crops in Tanzania. Drought in East Africa has resulted in massive increases in the prices of food staples such as maize and sorghum, crops crucial to the nutrition of the majority of Tanzania's population. From 2015 to 2017, the price of maize when bought wholesale has more than doubled from 400 Shillings per kilogram to 1253 Shillings per kilogram respectively.[4]
Tanzania remains heavily agricultural, with 80% of the total population engaging in subsistence farming.[5] Rural areas are subjected to increased food shortages in comparison to urbanized areas, with a survey carried out within the country in 2017 finding 84% of people in rural areas suffering food shortages over a 3 month period compared to 64% of residents in cities.[5] This disparity between rural and city nutrition can be attributed to various factors; increased nutritional needs due to manual labor, more limited access to food as a result of poor infrastructure, high-susceptibility to the damaging effects of nature and the "Agricultural Productivity Gap".[6]The Agricultural Productivity Gap postulates that "value added per worker" is often much lower within the agricultural sector than that found within non-agricultural sectors. Furthermore, allocation of labor within the agricultural sector is largely allocated ineffectively.[7]
Programs Targeting Hunger
editCurrently various USAID programs focusing on nutrition operate within the Morogoro, Dodoma, Iringa, Mbeya, Manyara, Songwe and Zanzibar regions of Tanzania. These "Feed the Future" programs heavily invest in nutrition, infrastructure, policy, capacity of institutions and agriculture which is identified by the organization as a key area of economic growth in the country.[1] A Tanzanian government led initiative "Kilimo Kwanza" or "Agriculture First" aims to encourage investment into agriculture within the private sector and hopes to improve agricultural processes and development within the country by seeking the knowledge of young people and the innovation that they can potentially provide.[8] During the 1990's, around 25% of Tanzania's population were provided access to iodized oil aimed to target iodine deficiency within expecting mothers, as result of studies showing the negative effects of in-utero iodine deficiency on cognitive development in children. Research showed that children of mothers with access to the supplement achieved on average greater than a third of a year more education than those that did not.[8]
Various programmes led by the World Food Programme currently operate within Tanzania. The Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) aims to target acute malnutrition by supplying blended food fortified with vitamins to pregnant women and mothers to children under 5 on a monthly basis.[9] Pregnant women and mothers to children under 2 have access to the Mother and Child Health and Nutrition Programme's "Super Cereal" which is supplied with the intent of reducing stunting in children.[9] World Food Programme supplementation remains the main food source for Tanzania's refugees. Super Cereal, Vegetable Oil, Pulses and Salt are supplied as part of the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation in order to meet the average persons minimum daily calorific requirement of 2,100 kcal.[9] UNICEF state that continued investment in nutrition within Tanzania is of the utmost importance: Estimates predict that Tanzania stands to lose $20 billion by 2025 if nutrition within the country remains at its current level, however improvements in nutrition could produce a gain of around $4.7 billion[2]
Save the Children, with help of UNICEF and Irish Aid funding created the Partnership for Nutrition in Tanzania (PANITA). in 2011. PANITA aims to utilize civil society organizations to specifically target nutrition within the country. Alongside this, various sectors associated with nutrition are targeted such as agriculture, water, sanitation, education, economic development and social progress. PANITA is responsible for ensuring significant attention is given to nutrition in development plans and budgets created on national and regional levels within Tanzania. Since its conception, PANITA has grown from 94 to 306 participating civil society organizations nationwide.[10] Agriculture within Tanzania is specifically targeted by the Irish Aid led initiative Harnessing Agriculture for Nutrition Outcomes (HANO), which aims to merge nutrition initiatives with agriculture in the Lindi District of the country. The project aims to reduce stunting by 10% in children aged 0 to 23 months.[10]
- ^ a b "Tanzania: Nutrition Profile". www.usaid.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
- ^ a b "UNICEF Tanzania - Nutrition - The situation". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
- ^ a b c "Tanzania Assessment for Scaling Up Nutrition" (PDF). 2012 – via Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Makoye, Kizito. "Survey finds most Tanzanians go hungry, despite government denials". U.S. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- ^ a b Makoye, Kizito. "Survey finds most Tanzanians go hungry, despite government denials". U.S. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
- ^ Alphonce, Roselyne (2017). "Addressing the mismatch between food and nutrition policies and needs in Tanzania" (PDF).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Douglas Gollin, David Lagakos, and Michael E. Waugh (November 2013). "The Agricultural Productivity Gap" (PDF) – via National Bureau of Economic Research.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "African Human Development Report 2012" (PDF). 2012: 80, 93 – via United Nations Development Program.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c "UN World Food Programme". Retrieved 2018-11-08.
- ^ a b "Nutrition | Tanzania | Save the Children". tanzania.savethechildren.net. Retrieved 2018-11-14.