What is the Cost of Hunger in Africa?
How reducing undernutrition in children contributes to economic growth.
The Cost of Hunger in Africa study (COHA) has made an important and innovative contribution to the discussion on nutrition by bringing the issue to the economic development context, and raising awareness that nutrition is not just a health issue. The Director of the World Food Programme’s Africa Office, Thomas Yanga explains the series and argues it must remain a priority for African leaders.
Although many countries have made progress in reducing the prevalence of child undernutrition, the number of children affected still remains high. The costs associated with child undernutrition alone are huge across Africa, ranging from 16.5 percent annual gross domestic product (GDP) in Ethiopia to 1.9 percent in Egypt.
Addressing the effects of child malnutrition must therefore be on top of the priorities of policy- and decision-makers both at the national and regional level, if sustainable development is to be achieved.
This is because malnutrition has a cost, direct and indirect, to individuals, families and nations, which is incurred through increased cases of illness, impaired learning potential, mortality and eventually reduced productivity. For action to be taken, evidence coupled with advocacy instruments must be in place to bring attention to those decision-makers the need to prioritize nutrition in development planning. This has been the major goal of the Cost of Hunger in Africa study.
Highlighting the effects of undernutrition
The study series is a continent-wide initiative led by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), with the support of the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
This week, Ghana joined the list of countries to have published a COHA study.
The emphasis of the COHA is to demonstrate the social and economic effects of undernutrition, and to make key recommendations on nutrition policy formulation and interventions.
Since its inception in 2010, with the endorsement of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in 2012, the study has continued to expand beyond the initial four pilot countries of Egypt, Ethiopia, Swaziland and Uganda. In 2014, African heads of state and government met in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, and made a commitment known as the ‘Malabo Declaration’ to expand the series across the continent.
So far the study has been completed in these countries (in alphabetical order): Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland and Uganda, and is ongoing in six more countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In those completed studies, the results show that countries are losing up to one sixth of GDP annually due to child undernutrition.
The COHA is implemented with the purpose of generating a national evidence base using national datasets. It is also led and implemented by national governments, comprising a multi-sectoral team drawn from various governmental departments such as Ministries of Health, Education, Agriculture, Social Development, Labour, Planning, Finance and Economy, and the national statistics institutions.
The study not only supports capacity development of national teams in analysis, but also creates a strong foundation of national ownership, making appropriation of results and follow-up to recommendations more acceptable.
In addition, the team implementing the study in most countries is led by the Ministry of Planning, which brings to the attention of this ministry the importance of nutrition in the economic development of the country.
Responses are strengthened
So far the study has been instrumental in stimulating national and continental discourse on nutrition, and has informed concrete policy actions, affirmed national political commitment to increase investments in nutrition interventions, and led to the overall strengthening of responses within social development sectors.
Most notably, the COHA study has been instrumental in positioning nutrition as a multi-sectoral development issue, the responses to which require a concerted and multi-sectoral approach. Indeed, the study has been able to bring different sectors to the table to discuss solutions to addressing malnutrition.
At a continental level, the COHA is an integral component of the framework of the African Regional Nutrition Strategy. The COHA has been instrumental in firmly placing the reduction of undernutrition on the regional agenda of the Malabo Declaration for Nutrition. Heads of state and government, for the first time, approved a standalone declaration on nutrition, calling for the elimination of hunger and a reduction of stunting to 10 percent and underweight to 5 percent in Africa by 2025.
“The study is an effective example of South-South cooperation”
Ultimately, it is expected that the study will encourage the revision of existing budgetary allocation practices in each participating country. This can ensure provision of the human and financial resources needed to combat child undernutrition, especially during a child’s first 1,000 days, which is a critical window of opportunity to prevent stunting.
The study has therefore empowered the African Union Commission to take the lead at the regional level to address nutrition issues, as well as equipping Member States to advocate for nutrition interventions. In addition, the study is an effective example of South-South cooperation as it was first initiated in Latin America and the Caribbean and later adopted into the African context.
The implementation of the study has had its challenges: it relies mainly on national data but in most countries data is not always available. Further, for the study to have the best impact there is a need to align it with the development planning of the country, which in many cases has been a challenge.
Study needs to be widened
Being a national study, the political situation at the country level may delay some processes — which has so far happened many times — and this negatively affects the timeframe in terms of completion and publication of the study.
However, even with these challenges, there is a need to continue the study in the Member States that are willing, and indeed requesting, to undertake it. In those countries there is enthusiasm and commitment shown by national implementation teams, as well as the sensitization of national decision-makers to the social and economic effects of undernutrition, which the study can reveal. Finally, continuing the study will fulfil the African Union Heads of States’ own commitment to implement it across the continent.
Facts & Figures
- The study — already conducted in 12 countries across Africa — shows the social and economic impact of undernutrition among children under five, and its cost on these countries’ economies.
- Undernutrition often leads to repeated illness among children and can mean more school years must be repeated. As they grow up, individuals are unable to contribute effectively to the economic and social development of their country.
- Several countries in Africa are aiming to reduce stunting to 10% by 2025 — five years ahead of the 2030 deadline set by the Sustainable Development Goals. This would represent a 56% decrease from 2012 and would greatly alleviate the social and economic burden of undernutrition.
To find out more, visit The Cost of Hunger in Africa.
