Malnutrition - Sustainable lifestyle campaign with Sofonie Dala - Angola

 Our everyday motto is: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"

In Angola many children continue to suffer from problems associated with malnutrition, lack of water, health, or protection. Malnutrition, a direct consequence of poverty, is a serious and troubling problem in Angola. Families can’t give their body as much food as it needs.

The problem we are trying to solve

Malnutrition is the 7 disease that kills the most in Angola and it is estimated that 46 children die of malnutrition every day in the country.  Southern and central Angola are facing one of the worst climate shocks in recent years, including alternating droughts and floods. Vulnerable populations use untreated wastewater for consumption, such as stagnant and unprotected pond water, where animals drink and defecate, and rural populations seek water that is dangerous to drink, cook and feed their animals. 

Moreover, droughts, limited access to safe drinking water, and increased food insecurity also have a significant impact on the health and nutrition of the population, especially for children under 5.

The increase in malnutrition arising due to the coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause nearly 170,000 additional child deaths in the next two years.

Please, read that again, and understand that we are in the middle of a crisis within a crisis.

Solutions

It is well documented that malnutrition is one of the main causes of child death in Angola. Furthermore, children, with weaker bodies and health, are more vulnerable and suffer seriously from hunger. 

Therefore, the objective of this campaign is to distribute soybean flour and soybean milk as protein quality diet to improve nutritional status of malnourished children.

• RECOMMENDATIONS

To improve the nutritional status of malnourished under five children further intervention is needed in terms of education and training on soybean-based diet formulation.

FUTURE RESEARCH

More research should be done to increase the data base on soybean research in Angola and contribute to further development of improved products to combat malnutrition.

“How To Unlock Positive Change In Angola’s Food System”

Angola ranks as number one for countries that have the weakest commitment to fighting malnutrition in children. This goes to show how malnutrition is a critical issue for Angolan children, which requires more attention. 68 per 1,000 live births is the mortality rate for children under 5 and 38% of children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition in Angola. In addition, more than 40 children die daily before even reaching this age, meaning thousands of children don’t get to celebrate their fifth birthday. Overall, an Angolan child is 84 times more likely to die before reaching their fifth birthday than in Luxembourg. Reasons range from malnutrition, poor sanitation and hygiene to contaminated water, amongst others.

Our major task is to develop a simplified systems map to grasp and visualize the interconnections of different challenges: poverty in rural, local communities, education, malnutrition in children, agriculture and the role of governments and big corporates, all being part of the Angolan food system.

Understanding the relationship between poverty and malnutrition in Angola

The Effects of Malnutrition

Although malnutrition includes both undernutrition and overnutrition, the majority of the focus is on undernutrition as it is a significant effect of global poverty.

Undernourished children in Angola have a higher risk of infection, delayed development and death. These children also tend to develop non-communicable diseases in their adult lives, creating a cycle of poor health that can also result in severe malnutrition. These effects can lead to harsher consequences later in their lives. This includes little to no economic growth, which causes low incomes and generational poverty.

”Undernutrition in children tends to come with other direct health issues such as vitamin deficiency, wasting, growth stunting and fetal growth restrictions. Undernutrition can also worsen the effects of underlying health problems and diseases. This includes children with recurrent illnesses like measles, malaria, diarrhea and other chronic diseases. As a result, malnutrition creates a higher risk for already vulnerable children.

Malnutrition and Poverty

Poverty accounts for the majority of malnutrition cases in children. About 40% of Angolans live below the poverty line. This in turn creates a high rate of malnutrition, specifically in children who are more susceptible to the consequences of extreme poverty. Malnutrition is the main cause of child death, which the high infant mortality rate.

One can further break the causes of malnutrition down into food insecurity, unhealthy household conditions and inadequate health care. All of these causes tend to lead back to the overarching problem of poverty. Moreover, the potential causes of malnutrition in children are a result of both socio-economic and political factors in Angola.

Current Plans

The number of malnourished children is currently increasing with more than 2.4 million people and severe malnutrition in Angola affecting 85,000 children since 2019.

Even though Angola has a major problem with malnutrition, the country has been on track to control the current problems. According to the Global Nutrition Report, Angola is specifically targeting the maternal, infant and young child nutrition sectors of malnutrition. Some of the current successes include:

An increase in the number of infants reaching the birth weight target by 15.3%.

Mothers exclusively breastfeeding about 37.4% of infants (0 to 5 months), which is helping provide infants with adequate nutrients.

A lower average (4.9%) of children under 5-years-old experiencing wasting in comparison to the South African region.

What we are looking for?

We are looking forward to bringing together diverse ideas and perspectives from international and national stakeholders, like:

Next-generation innovators and systems thinkers, entrepreneurs, farmers, scientists, public and private sector representatives, civil society representatives, activists, financial sector representatives, chefs, as well as individuals outside of the food and agriculture industry.