Malnutrition in Zimbabwe

Political problem

Zimbabwe, a country in southern Africa, is suffering from many diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. "One in four human beings is malnourished" in Africa, but Zimbabwe is near the deep end with almost 12,000 children alone suffering from severe malnutrition (Turner 8). The government is controlled by totalitarian Robert Mugabe. Ruling through disillusionment, Mugabe blames the West for the problems in Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe 2). Zimbabweans suffer from lack of food, sustenance, and the politicization of food, but these can be fixed by the fortification of basic foods, the resolution of the political problems in Zimbabwe, and continuing aid from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Details

If people do not have enough food, or cannot afford food, they will most likely not have enough nutrients in their diets. The Mugabe regime is "[violating] the core obligations of the rights to health, water, food, and work" (Sollom 38). Even if Mugabe had been allowing the Zimbabwean citizens these rights, they would not have been able to afford the food they need. What was once Africa's breadbasket is now living in poverty (Tsvangiari 1). Sixty-two percents of Zimbabweans are living on less than one dollar per day, according to Hazel Chinake. So even if they could afford food, the Zimbabwean people would be starving. Under the white minority rule in what was then called Rhodesia, roughly one fourth of the population was affected with malnutrition.[1]

When a diet consists mainly of fillers, it may eliminate starvation, but it misses key nutrients. The basic fillers are rice, corn, and wheat – cheap crops that can be grown almost anywhere in the world. In Africa, the main crops are generally sorghum and millet, used to feed both the people and any animals the people might own. While "most people only eat meat twice a year at most", there are still some Zimbabweans that live off of a completely grain diet (Sollom 37). However, prices soar for basic foods, too. Mugabe ordered the seizure of white-owned farms in 2000, which lowered the agricultural production, thus lowering the internal economy of Zimbabwe and access to food, as well.

The politicization of food has been used to control the outcomes of elections for almost thirty years. The Zimbabwe African Nation Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party has controlled elections since 1980, when Mugabe took control, by denying food to the opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The land that Mugabe seized was given to "government ministers and other ZANU-PF supporters for their patronage" (Sollom 25, 26). This destroyed the interior agriculture market, requiring the people of Zimbabwe to buy any food from neighbors cultivating small plots of land or from outside of the country. Mugabe also lied to NGOs, such as Save the Children and the World Food Programme, telling them that he would distribute food that he actually kept for supporters of ZANU-PF.

The resolution of the political problems in Zimbabwe could reverse the effects of malnutrition. On March 29, 2008, the MDC gained a majority in the House of Assembly, the first time IZANU-PF had lost a majority in the House. On that same day, the presidential candidate for MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the popular vote for president. However, "since neither [Mugabe nor Tsvangiari] won a simple majority," Mugabe announced himself the winner by default and remained in office [Sollom 12]. The two parties had discussions at the South African Development Community, and agreed on letting Mugabe remain as president, while Tsvangiari would become prime minister. These transitions were to be coordinated by the South African government in order to maintain balance and neutrality. Sollom advises all developed nations to "maintain all targeted bilateral sanctions in place for Zimbabwe" until the government becomes democratic (43). The UN Security Council could recommend the case of Robert Mugabe to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, such as the denying of food to opposition supporters or the torturing of medical workers.

Nongovernmental organizations should continue giving aid to Zimbabwe in order to keep the problem of malnutrition from growing. Protein-calorie malnutrition has already "claimed more than 1,100 lives... [And malnutrition] could infect more than 60,000" (Zimbabwe 2). The fact that malnutrition can be seen as an infectious disease shows the staggering amount of patients compared to the so few doctors able to treat it. "About 15 children are admitted to the hospital" each day due to severe malnutrition [Mutseyekwa 1]. The hospital is actually set up by a NGO because the Zimbabwean government shut down all the public hospitals in Harare and the medical school at the University of Zimbabwe. NGOs that are already helping include the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and Save the Children.

Fortifying basic meals with necessary nutrients can allow the foods to solve both starvation and malnutrition at the same time. The filler foods mentioned earlier are generally given to people in underdeveloped nations. Through genetic engineering, the seeds can contain certain nutrients that are also present when it grows. Although the finished product looks the same, the fortified food can give a malnourished person all the nutrients they need to get healthy.

Although there are many problems causing, and being caused by, malnutrition, they can be ended through a few basic solutions. Sustenance can be solved by both the continued help of NGOs and the fortification of filler foods. Starvation can also be solved by NGOs, but if the political problems could also be solved, starvation in Zimbabwe could be eradicated. Political unrest can be solved by the UN Security Council enforcing rules on the requirements of a government, other nations boycotting anything with Zimbabwe, or the International Criminal Court charging ZANU-PF and Robert Mugabe with crimes against humanity. Through a few small steps, one large problem can be eliminated.

References

  1. ↑ The Political Economy of Hunger in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe by Kevin Danaher - Issue: A Journal of Opinion. Vol. 11, No. 3/4, The Re-Creation of Zimbabwe: Prospects for Education and Rural Reconstruction (Autumn - Winter, 1981), p. 33

Further reading

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