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Not only is East Africa in a food crisis, but also a water crisis. Warnings by the authorities of Africa have been put out stating that the water reservoir levels are dwindling, the public water supplies are expected to be depleted within the decade. A result of the drought is a rapid death in livestock as they die of thirst. Without rain, the animals die due to a lack of grass or hay because it needs water to grow. Africa does not have the means to irrigate the soil and because the grasses don’t grow, the animals rely on feed from humans to survive. In the year 2006, rainfall occurred only twice. As a solution, the African people use wells and dams to get their water, but these resources are drying out too. As a way of being resourceful, rainwater is collected to use for toilets and handwashing.
Rationed Food
While there is not an exact amount of food rationed per person in Africa, the portions available are small due to the crisis. An article published in 2014 by news24.com stated that “Nearly 800,000 refugees in Africa have had their food rations slashed by up to 60%, threatening to push many to the brink of starvation”. World Food Program (WFP) is to blame for the decreased rations. WFP funds Africa’s refugee agencies with the funds to feed the people and refugees of Africa. Without the funding the people would starve, as 2.4 million people rely on WFP funds. The funding cuts, rationed the food of one-third of the 2.4 million people fed in the 22 countries supported by WFP.
During this time the refugees endured cases of anemia, malnutrition and growth stunting; many of the victims being children. In the US we are advised to eat >/= 2000 calories a day while the African famine victims struggle to take in at least 1000 calories per day, which cannot sufficiently feed an adult or offer proper nutrition for growth. Therefore, the refugees suffer from many illnesses and diseases. Food funding cuts even if reversed “create an immediate and often irreversible” impact towards the refugee adults and children. In 2013, due to the food insecurity, there were increased levels of children dropping out of school, being married off young and in prostitution; these levels have risen in hopes of new income. The prostitution of women in Africa is referred to as “survival sex” when women and girls are forced to prostitute themselves to earn money to feed their families.
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AIDS and HIV
In 2003 an article was published by The Lancet (a public health journal) written by Dr. Alex Waal, it reads that an attributed factor to the food crisis was an HIV/AIDS epidemic. The cause for the new famine was thought to be that those affected with the disease were ill and unable to work or passed away, thus reducing the country’s farming production. The disease also spread throughout South Africa affecting many families and farmers throughout the time period. Not only was less food being produced for the country but those farmers who rely on that food to feed their families could no longer support themselves. As stated before, another factor of farming declination was drought which increased severe famine and reduced recovery process for those affected. Each year millions of African children are orphaned, due to either one or both of their parents dying from AIDS or HIV, especially in South East Africa and South Africa regions.
Ebola
The outbreak of Ebola in 2014 occurred in West Africa and did not really affect East Africa, but it was a cause of their food crisis. In hopes of the disease not spreading, all imports and trade in the marketplace stopped, causing West Africa to go into a food crisis. West Africa resources were scarce then worsened when trying to treat people with the illness. Due to the lack of food, prices skyrocketed making it even harder for people to obtain food. The affected farmers also were not allowed to harvest their crops, because of a potential risk of spreading the disease within the farming community.
