Prevention is better than cure: Famine can be averted

Uganda is currently faced with famine in districts scattered in all regions of the country. Parts of Ankole, Teso and Karamoja are devastated by famine. The images that have appeared in our newspapers and on our TV screens have been extremely disturbing. Hollow-eyed children gazing into a void. Bodies of adults abandoned in the wilderness. Animals reduced to bare bones. Dried up streams and rivulets. Exhausted soils. Empty granaries.
We can blame it all on the vagaries of uncertain weather patterns but since this is not the first time we have had failed rains, drought and crop failures, the government of the day cannot evade accusations of incompetence, ineptness and dereliction of duty. The government is being evasive and is even in denial regarding the seriousness of the situation. Worse still, the response to this emergency is piecemeal and adhoc.
Like the Bourbons we seem to learn nothing and forget nothing. Foreign Affairs magazine says “individual nations, international voluntary agencies, and especially official international organisations have dealt with the specter of mass starvation as an unexpected crisis-as something to react to when it occurs rather than as a likelihood to be planned for in advance. Prevention has been the exception rather than the rule...Moreover, we act on the occasion of each famine as though mankind had no collective memory. Whoever is faced with the present famine usually acts as though there were no lesson to be derived from the melancholy succession of previous famines and previous efforts to cope with them.”
Famine is defined by experts as “a phenomenon in which a large proportion of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common”. The malnourishment is due to severe food shortages which come from shrinking food production caused by drought.
Famine therefore is a result of natural causes and unnatural causes. The natural causes are evidenced by crop failure, death of livestock and pestilence. The unnatural causes are armed conflicts and bad leadership. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen in his book “Development as Freedom”, asserts that democratic governance is critical in averting famine. He insists that democracies don’t suffer famine. The thing about democracies is that they have in-built processes that guarantee that the best possible decisions are made. Democracy checks impunity and complacency.
What is to be done? Given the increasing likelihood of worsening weather due to climate change on a global and local scale, we have to learn to grow crops in spite of prolonged drought. Our only saving grace will be innovation, innovation, and more innovation. We should harvest and store water, establish valley dams, set up irrigation schemes for large farms and simple irrigation systems for smaller farms. We should also promote green houses. Sustainable agriculture is our only bulwark against the ravages of unpredictable weather patterns.
But the most pressing issue is starvation. There are many malnourished people in the famine stricken areas. The children are especially vulnerable. Malnutrition is a medical condition and makes one incapable of processing normal food. Malnourished people should thus be given therapeutic food for a short period of one to two months. That is what doctors recommend. Therapeutic food is preferable to the porridge and rice that malnourished children are normally given. Simple therapeutic food can be made out of a mixture of sim sim and groundnut paste, milk, sugar, fat, soya flour, minerals and vitamins. This can help victims of malnutrition gain weight rapidly and also regain their ability to digest regular food.
There is need for innovative approaches to famine relief. The options are food ration distribution, cash, vouchers or food for work. Of all the options, the most effective intervention has been proven to be cash and vouchers.
Finally, emergency response to famine requires collaboration. Multiple resources and expertise should be harnessed. That is because famine is a medical, psychological and socio-economic problem. The deterioration of the health of the community requires a medical response in terms of better nutrition. The hopelessness that comes about as a result of communities witnessing helplessly as people and animals die require a psychological boost. Above all, it is key to put in place policies that can deal with the emergency situation and prevent future disasters.

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