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Africa: Working to End Hunger Internally

Africa: Working to End Hunger Internally

When discussing the issue of hunger and global poverty, most immediately think of foreign aid and intervention from donors as being the main solution to the problem. What seems to be disregarded is the power of those living in poverty and the influence of those in power in impoverished countries. Now, leaders in Africa are working to end hunger internally. A recent conference brought together delegates from five African nations with the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization to develop an effective way to eradicate hunger in Africa.

FAO looks to form innovative partnerships in Africa to “build on experiences and stop the suffering of the estimated 23% of all Africans who remain undernourished”. While the organization’s program, Unified Approaches to End Hunger in Africa, will work to provide greater access to water, food, and education, the program builds off of the already increased production of goods and “consistent political will” in many developing African countries.

Countries like Angola and Ethiopia have run social protection and national development plans, promoting domestic agriculture and the provision of water as well as infrastructure improvement. Services including microfinancing and “cash-for-work public infrastructure programs” work to accelerate development in order to end poverty. These internal programs work to create stable societies and economies that are more conducive to greater production in order to advance the protection of their citizens.

While partnership and foreign aid are incredibly important forces behind eradicating extreme poverty around the world, they are by no means the only work being done. It is necessary to take into account the work being done by these people that are often portrayed as hopeless and helpless by the media; they are far from it and are working to end global poverty just as resolutely internally as developed countries are external.

– Sarah Rybak

Source: All Africa
Photo:Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Boeing’s Dreamliner Does Africa

Boeing's Dreamliner Does Africa
Ethiopian Airlines has become the first airline outside of Japan to own a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Ethiopian Airlines has managed to maintain an impressive business record in the face of a harsh economic crisis. The airline has seen substantial economic growth over the last seven years.

Airline CEO Tewolde GebreMariam is helping his company use its impressive economic growth and its strategic location to its advantage. Ethiopia is located in the middle of the developing world. However, if the airline is to be successful with their Boeing endeavor, they will need to deal with the economic stress of being an airliner in Africa.

The airline needs to combat a poor African airline infrastructure. Additionally, Ethiopian airlines will need to invest in the education and training of their pilots and technicians. GebreMariam has answers for these problems. He says Ethiopian Airlines is working with African governments to improve airport infrastructure. Ethiopia, he says, is building a huge aviation academy that has grown to 1000 graduates a year. He is confident that the airline can give an opportunity for the country.

GebreMariam believes the new airliner has a great deal to offer passengers as well. He boasts the more humid air on the aircraft, wider windows allowing passengers to take in more scenery, and better fuel efficiency, all of which he hopes will increase business to the airline.

GebreMariam believes the airline can generate over ten billion dollars annually in revenue citing Ethiopia’s growing GDP as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. He expects its growth to continue because of its strategic location. Economies such as China, African economies, India and Brazil are all growing economies, and GebreMariam believes he can use the Boeing Dreamliner to help boost Ethiopian Airlines’ profits with customers from those countries.

The Boeing Dreamliner will fly in Africa for the time being. When they are able to purchase a second Dreamliner, GebreMariam says Ethiopian Airlines will utilize it on the Washington route.  They have already ordered ten Boeing Dreamliners and are expecting to have four of them delivered by year-end.

– Caitlin Zusy
Source: CNN
Photo: Ethios Sport

How USAID Is Helping Ethiopian Farmers

How USAID Is Helping Ethiopian FarmersIn alliance with the Ministry of Industry of Ethiopia and General Mills, USAID launched the African Alliance for Food Processing Project in Ethiopia on April 18.

This project has been designed to increase the availability of affordable and nutritious food in Ethiopia as well as increase the competitiveness of Ethiopia’s food processing sector. This sector of Ethiopia’s economy is one of the oldest industries in Ethiopia.

Among the goals of this project, supplying Ethiopia with wheat processing and milling to increase quality management and meet national standards remains tantamount. The African Alliance for Food Processing works with food companies and food industry associations to attain this goal and to expand market access for smallholder Ethiopian farmers.

The effect of providing Ethiopia with this type of aid is two-fold. It helps support local industry and reinforces the push to grow Ethiopia’s economy as a whole. It also enables local food processors to provide quality and healthy food which can be sold at a lower price since it’s locally produced.

Another benefit of the African Alliance for Food Processing is that it falls in line with USAID’s push to lower foreign worker occupation in impoverished countries. By providing Ethiopia with information, USAID enables Ethiopian residents to solve their own economic difficulties making the workers more accountable and the results more satisfying.

– Pete Grapentien

Photo Source Flickr

Ethiopia Embraces Bamboo

Ethiopia Embraces Bamboo
According to the government of Ethiopia, the country is experiencing an industrial boom due to the supply of bamboo, foreign investment, and interest from foreign markets.

Although there has been no existing bamboo economy in Ethiopia, minister for agriculture and rural development Mitiku Kassa has said that the country now has the right mix of resources, foreign interest, and investment to create an industry from the 2.47 million acres of bamboo previously untouched.

Africa Bamboo, a public-private partnership between Ethiopia and a German development group, plans to invest over $10 million into manufacturing for bamboo flooring products. Associate engineer Felix Boeck of Africa Bambo commented that there was much market potential for bamboo in Europe. “We believe that there can be a reliable and effective supply chain built here in Ethiopia to create a bamboo manufacturing industry,” said Boeck.

Unlike traditional wood sources, bamboo is fully sustainable and sees regrowth within three years. In comparison, trees can take up to 30 years until they are mature enough to harvest again for wood. Many local farmers hope to capitalize on the booming bamboo industry in the country, and hope that foreign investment is available to small-scale growers.

Other organizations are stepping in to ensure that the government of Ethiopia recognizes the vast potential that bamboo has to create economic growth and development.

– Christina Kindlon
Source: Guardian

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Childhood Stunting Has Long-Term Effects

Childhood Stunting Has Long-Term EffectsChildhood stunting occurs when chronic malnutrition stunts a child’s growth, both physically and mentally. Over 180 million children worldwide suffer from this condition. The problem is concentrated in certain countries. In fact, 21 countries account for more than 80 percent of documented stunted growth cases.

Healthy nutrition is most important in the first five years of life.  In six countries (Afghanistan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Madagascar, East Timor, and Yemen), 50 percent or more of children under 5 years old are stunted. This number is terrifying because stunting can lower cognitive capacity for life.  Children who suffer from stunting have a reduced ability to learn.  This poor nutrition can affect future earnings and success.  Any inadequate nutrition within the first two years of life is permanent and irreversible.

Being four to six inches shorter than their peers is the most superficial concern for stunted children.  They are “five times more likely to die from diarrhea due to physiological changes in a stunted body.”  Furthermore, the typical stunted brain has fewer cells and fewer connections between cells, which means impaired functioning.

childhood stunting

Despite these numerous health effects, childhood stunting continues to receive little to no media attention.  Organizations like UNICEF work to combat malnutrition, but people do not realize the effects of this extreme malnutrition.

UNICEF and its partners provide cost-effective solutions, such as vitamin A supplements, iodized salt, and therapeutic foods.  Its famous Plumpy’nut is a peanut-based food that helps malnourished children gain up to two pounds per week.

Childhood stunting is preventable, and it is time for people to understand their effects. Numerous studies and organizations name hunger as the “gravest single threat to the world’s public health.”  The effects of hunger alter a community’s culture, economy, and overall well-being.

– Whitney M. Wyszynski

Source: TIME
Photo: Fast Company

Hilary Swank Spotted in Ethiopia

Hilary Swank Spotted in Ethiopia
Hilary Swank’s recent trip to Ethiopia was marked by revelation and promotion. UNICEF flew Swank to visit various schools and education centers that received donations directly from the organization. The funding for this project will come directly from a new campaign launched in partnership with UNICEF and legendary watch and jewelry maker Montblanc.

The campaign encompasses Montblanc’s ‘Signature for Good’ collection which premiered earlier this month. The collection includes leather products, jewelry, and pens ranging from $220 to $810. For every product sold from the collection between now and March 2014, Montblanc will donate part of the proceeds to UNICEF’s education programs, funding schools that Swank visited.

According to Hilary Swank, the chance to visit Ethiopia and see first hand the benefits of the money being donated renewed her appreciation for organizations such as UNICEF and their efforts. She commented that seeing the books and learning material that the schools were able to accumulate due to these donations was “pretty extraordinary.”

For celebrities, it seems almost too easy to make their way over to a developing country, whether its because they’re already there on set or making a charity trip. Since their every move is already accounted for by the paparazzi who wait for them at gas stations and fast-food restaurants, a trip of such a scale would most definitely create a bigger buzz in the media. For causes big and small, piggy-backing off of a celebrity’s Google search carries no shame. It gives an opportunity for the world to find out more about these corners of the world even if that wasn’t their initial intention when searching for “Hilary Swank’s teeth”.

– Deena Dulgerian
Source:Star Pulse

Books For Africa Teams Up With The Peace Corps

Books For Africa Teams Up With The Peace CorpsBy pairing with the Peace Corps and other nonprofits, Books for Africa has become the world’s largest shipper of donated books to the African continent. With its headquarters based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Books for Africa has shipped nearly 27 million books to 48 countries in the past 25 years.

In countries where few classrooms have suitable resources, Books for Africa ship libraries of new scholarly and leisurely texts as well as new law and human rights texts. Classrooms in countries such as Ghana, Ethiopia and South Africa are filled with avid learners whose parents have sacrificed greatly to provide them with an education but often lack adequate supplies.

While many classrooms have adequate textbooks to constitute as reading material, noted on project organizer, the establishment of reading centers such as libraries indulge the hope that “Ethiopian children and their families will be able to experience the joys of reading and literacy activities directly.”

– Pete Grapentien

Source Huffington Post