An assessment of the causes of malnutrition in Ethiopia: A ...

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Table 3.1: Trends in the agricultural population, output and resources (1960-2000) Year Population (in million) Per capita food output (in kg) Per capita landholding (ha) 1960/61 23 240.2 0.28 1969/70 28 242.7 0.25 1979/80 36 204.4 0.14 1989/90 48 141.7 0.10 1999/00 63 140.0 0.09 Source: EEA 2003/04. 3.4.3. Malnutrition and food insecurity: national trend As shown in Table 3.1 and Figure 3.2, the trends in population, agricultural output and resources signals a frightening situation in terms of both food and nutrition security. Though food security is not a sufficient condition to attain nutrition security, food insecurity is one of the most important immediate determinants of malnutrition. The trends show the country is becoming increasingly food deficient with its growing population and ever smaller, more fragmented landholdings. Over the past four decades, the population size has increased almost threefold, whereas per capita food production and landholding declined by 42 percent and 68 percent, respectively. According to Masefield (2000), the average landholding size in Ethiopia would be insufficient to feed a family of five, even if production could be successfully increased by three times using improved technologies. Figure 3.2 gives the trend in per capita food production between 1980/81 and 2002/03. The per capita food production is continuously below FAO’ recommended yearly food intake and the gap is widening. Studies in Ethiopia have shown that if size of cultivated area among cereal growers is Figure 3.2: Per capita food production and production gap – 1980/81 to 2002/03. 250 200 kg/person 150 100 50 0 1980/81 1981/82 1982/83 1983/84 1984/85 1985/86 1986/87 1987/88 1988/89 1989/90 1990/91 1991/92 Year 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 Per capita food production (Kg) Recommended yearly food intake Source: CSA, MOARD. Note: Per capita food production gap is based on FAO recommended per capita yearly food intake of 225kg. 48
viewed as a proxy for household food security, household food security is positively associated with child nutritional status in some regions, negatively associated in some regions, and show no consistent association in other regions (Pelletier et al 1995). The study by Pelletier et al indicated that chronic malnutrition in Ethiopia is not restricted to the drought-prone areas, that aggregate (regional) food supply is not a major determinant of the distribution of child malnutrition within the country, and that household food production (if not security) is neither a strong nor a consistent predictor of child malnutrition status. Their study indicated that even among the more “food secure” households living in the rural areas (those cultivating more than 1.5 ha, civil servants and other economic groups), the prevalence of chronic malnutrition is 50 percent or higher. Addressing the malnutrition problem via solving the food insecurity problems of various targeted groups requires an understanding of the characteristics of those who are under chronic or transitory (acute) food insecurity. From the viewpoint of donors, particularly in their decisions to give food aid to Ethiopia, the distinction between chronic and transitory food insecurity (recently being called predictable vs. unpredictable needs) has became relevant (Raisin 2001). Since 2001, the donor policy statement attempts a definition: ‘Chronically food insecure households are those that cannot meet their food needs in any given year, regardless of climatic variables or other external shocks…although in practice shifting vulnerability between food insecure groups makes the separation of chronic and acute needs complex.’ It has been argued that chronic food insecurity is related more to a lack of productive assets (livestock, cash, land, and labor) than to climate (Robinson 2003). Maxwell observed that ‘although there was no major increase in malnutrition during 1995-98, the effect of years of food insecurity was a slow but steady process of destitution or depletion of assets, which significantly decreased coping capacity.’ Addressing this chronic insecurity also calls for reconceptualizing our understanding of famine from a sudden catastrophic event related to drought to a process inextricably linked to poverty and, in turn, to the timing and nature of our intervention (Raisin 2001b). As stated above, even a food secure household or region can be highly affected by malnutrition due to deficiencies in the non-food factors of nutrition, such as caring, health, and environment. According to Ethiopia’s 2002 FSS document, a combination of short-term and long-term causal factors can explain the burden of food insecurity in Ethiopia. Long-term factors, such as the interaction between environment, high population growth, diminishing land-holdings, and lack of on-farm technological innovation have led to a significant decline in productivity per household. These trends, combined with repeated effects of drought, erode the productive assets of communities and households, which, in turn, leads to increasing environmental degradation and, more importantly, makes households less able to cope with shocks because they cannot accumulate savings even in good years. 3.4.4. Regional variations The administrative regions of Ethiopia have differing population densities, resources, opportunities and culinary habits, and consequently differ in many aspects of food security. Nationally food security has been and continues to be a serious challenge. According to a recent Government declaration (MOFED 2002), at least 44 percent of the Ethiopian population is estimated to be food insecure. The number of chronically food insecure people has remained about 5 million per year, with an additional 10 million people in a vulnerable situation. This number increases in some years, as witnessed in the year 2002/03. The major causes for food insecurity at individual or household levels, is related to high level of poverty (access) and inadequate national production of food items (supply). About 10 percent of the population lives in pastoral and semi-pastoral communities that occupy 60 percent of the land (Kaluski et al 2002). These communities live in agriculturally marginal lowlands that are prone to frequent drought and famine. On the other 49
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An assessment of the causes of maln
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• Bantirgu Hailemariam coordinate
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3.4. National and Regional Trends:
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LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Child stu
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Page 14 and 15: Figure 1.1: Stunting among children
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Page 22 and 23: 2.1. Introduction In the early 1960
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Page 26 and 27: Table 2.3: Regional profile of stun
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Page 32 and 33: Basic Causes Major Features High im
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Page 36 and 37: Table 2.9: Gross primary enrollment
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Page 45 and 46: CHAPTER 3: FOOD SECURITY AND MALNUT
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Page 49 and 50: 3.1. Introduction The economic grow
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Page 63 and 64: Figure 3.3: Per capita food product
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Page 105 and 106: Figure 4.7: Risk of mother to child
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4.3.1.2. Recognizing symptoms of il
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the direction of the growth curve i
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Figure 4.13: Prevalence of stunting
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from poor exposure of children to l
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4.3.3.4. Response to food security
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4.3.6. Time and energy expenditure
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Table 4.3: Care focused initiatives
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together. This demands an integrate
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In an emergency, therefore, care an
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• Enhance women’s capacity for
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Table 4.4: Analysis of care conside
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Sector/ Office Strength Weakness Op
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International initiative Strengths
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• Rate of continued breastfeeding
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Figure 4.17: Community based nutrit
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There is a strong need for enhancin
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supplies. The available facilities
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5.1. Introduction 5.1.1. Conceptual
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access to a basic package of qualit
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Integrating nutrition interventions
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Although the coverage of ENA traini
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Box 5.1: Household and Community In
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The interventions that make up this
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conferences. To this effect, a nati
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with the engineering aspect of wate
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Table 5.1: Prevalence of diarrhea a
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Figure 5.3: Trends in latrine cover
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Institutional arrangements are also
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ehavior are integrated and supplied
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5.4.2. Programs and projects 5.4.2.
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made by NGOs for the affected child
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CHAPTER 6: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
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interventions in Ethiopia, includin
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6.2. Challenges and Lessons Learnt
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Training Post-secondary training is
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Table 6.6: (continued) Agency Inter
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Achievements Challenges Sustainabil
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Berhane G. 1995. Nutrition surveill
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Ethiopian PROFILES Team & AED/Linka
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Middlebrook, P. 2002. Social protec
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Raisin, J. 2001b. Improving food se
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Yamano, T., H. Alderman, & L. Chris
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