Global hunger, food insecurity worsening - SOFI Report

By Sola Charles

An estimated 828 million people were affected by hunger globally in 2021, which is an increase of about 46 million since 2020, and 150 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the 2022 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report.

The SOFI report was jointly released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The report presents updates on the food security and nutrition situation around the world, including the latest estimates of the cost and affordability of a healthy diet.  It also looks at ways in which governments can repurpose their current support to agriculture to reduce the cost of healthy diets, mindful of the limited public resources available in many parts of the world.

It provides fresh evidence that the world is moving further away from its goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.  

According to the report, after remaining relatively unchanged since 2015, the proportion of people affected by hunger jumped in 2020 and continued to rise in 2021, to 9.8 percent of the world population. This compares with 8 percent in 2019 and 9.3 percent in 2020.

Around 2.3 billion people in the world (29.3 percent) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021 – 350 million more compared to before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 924 million people (11.7 percent of the global population) faced food insecurity at severe levels, an increase of 207 million in two years.

The gender gap in food insecurity continued to rise in 2021 - 31.9 percent of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure, compared to 27.6 percent of men – a gap of more than 4 percentage points, compared with 3 percentage points in 2020.

Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, reflecting the effects of inflation in consumer food prices stemming from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain it. 

An estimated 45 million children under the age of five were suffering from wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, which increases children’s risk of death by up to 12 times. Furthermore, 149 million children under the age of five had stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients in their diets, while 39 million were overweight. 

Progress is being made on exclusive breastfeeding, with nearly 44 percent of infants under six months of age being exclusively breastfed worldwide in 2020. This is still short of the 50 percent target by 2030. Of great concern, two in three children are not fed the minimum diverse diet they need to grow and develop to their full potential.

Looking forward, projections are that nearly 670 million people (8 percent of the world population) will still be facing hunger in 2030 – even if a global economic recovery is taken into consideration. This is a similar number to 2015 when the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition by the end of this decade was launched under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

 the report also points out that governments could do more to reduce trade barriers for nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and pulses.

It is estimated that between 702 and 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021. The estimate is presented as a range to reflect the added uncertainty in data collection due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. The increases are measured with reference to the middle of the projected range (768 million).

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said: “Low-income countries, where agriculture is key to the economy, jobs, and rural livelihoods, have little public resources to repurpose. FAO is committed to continuing working together with these countries to explore opportunities for increasing the provision of public services for all actors across agri-food systems.”

Also speaking, IFAD President Gilbert F. Houngbo said: “These are depressing figures for humanity. We continue to move away from our goal of ending hunger by 2030. The ripple effects of the global food crisis will most likely worsen the outcome again next year. We need a more intense approach to ending hunger and IFAD stands ready to do its part by scaling up its operations and impact. We look forward to having everyone's support.”

On his part, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said: “The unprecedented scale of the malnutrition crisis demands an unprecedented response. We must double our efforts to ensure that the most vulnerable children have access to nutritious, safe, and affordable diets -- and services for the early prevention, detection, and treatment of malnutrition. With so many children’s lives and futures at stake, this is the time to step up our ambition for child nutrition – and we have no time to waste.”

In his own contribution, WFP Executive Director David Beasley said: “There is a real danger these numbers will climb even higher in the months ahead. The global price spikes in food, fuel, and fertilizers that we are seeing as a result of the crisis in Ukraine threaten to push countries around the world into famine. The result will be global destabilization, starvation, and mass migration on an unprecedented scale. We have to act today to avert this looming catastrophe.”

According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “Every year, 11 million people die due to unhealthy diets. Rising food prices mean this will only get worse.  WHO supports countries’ efforts to improve food systems through taxing unhealthy foods and subsidizing healthy options, protecting children from harmful marketing, and ensuring clear nutrition labels. We must work together to achieve the 2030 global nutrition targets, to fight hunger and malnutrition, and to ensure that food is a source of health for all.”

 

Famari Barro resumes as SCI Nigeria Country Director

By Sola Charles

A new Country Director has been appointed for Save the Children International, Nigeria, in the person of Mr. Famari Barro. He resumed office with effect from 16 June 2022.

In a statement, Amanuel Mamo, Director of Advocacy, Campaigns, Communication, and Media, SCI, Nigeria, noted that before his latest appointment, the new Country Director has been Country Coordinator in Guinea Bissau, Country Director in Niger and Cameroon, Director of Support Services in Haiti, and Director of Operations in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo.

The statement revealed that Barro who has over 30 years of experience managing, designing, and leading the development and humanitarian programs, was with Plan International including as Deputy Regional Director for Operations in West & Central Africa, providing leadership and technical expertise.

Barro joined SCI in January 2016 as Country Director in Cote d’Ivoire and brought an extensive portfolio to the Country Office. In 2019 he joined Catholic Relief Service in Guinea Bissau to be a successful Chief of Party for a McGovern Dole Food for Education (FFE), USAID-funded Project.

The new Country Director will be leading in the transformation of from SCI, Nigeria to a new operating model, whilst also delivering its 2022–2024 Country Strategy Plan through implementing quality programs, including advocacy and campaigning for the rights of the most marginalized children, including girls and children with disabilities.

On his new appointment, Barro noted:  “I am very delighted to join Save the Children Nigeria’s Team and to join our efforts to that of all relevant stakeholders so that children in Nigeria are more protected against all forms of violence, grow up healthy and have access to quality basic and inclusive education”. 

Save the Children has been working in Nigeria since 2001 and is currently present in 14 states of the federation and FCT. The organization believes every child deserves a future. 

Oyo State pioneers novel initiative to curb cervical cancer deaths

 Nigeria records an estimated 8,000 deaths and 12,075 new cases of cervical cancer every year, making it the second most frequent cancer among women in Nigeria, and the second most frequent cancer, among women aged 15- 44 years.

As part of the response to the national and international calls for cancer prevention, management and control, the Oyo State government has pioneered a novel cervical cancer prevention and control initiative with the launch of the Cervical Cancer Screening Project ECHO.

The Project, which is coming five years after the State launched its 5-year cancer control plan, is a partnership between the Oyo State government through the Ministry of Health, the University of New Mexico Cancer centre, and the University of Maryland and the Centre for Bioethics and Research, is a direct response to the call for action for the elimination of cervical cancer by the World Health Organisation, WHO.

Tagged Nigeria UNM UMB Cancer Control ECHO (NUUCCE) Programme, the project is essential to reduce the cancer burden through intensive training for qualified frontline health workers across the state.

The programme is being facilitated by Prof Cosette Wheeler of the  Departments of Pathology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of New Mexico and Professor Clement Adebomowo of the University College Hospital, and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, with support from Dr. Imran Morhason-Bello, a consultant gynaecologist at the UCH and College of Medicine, as well as the Oyo State Director of Public Health, Dr. Olubunmi Ayinde.

The project is described as the first of its kind in Nigeria and possibly in West Africa, where a state government is collaborating with international experts to launch a robust training programme with a  sustained partnership toward the prevention and intervention of cervical cancer. 

The Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Taiwo Oladipo, explained that the project, which is hybrid in nature, will last one year, including a monthly lecture with hands-on training designed for frontline health workers from the State’s government-owned health care institutions.

Oladipo who spoke at the virtual flag-off of the training said the initiative will boost the State’s capacity for mass cervical cancer screening and prevention.

Further, the commissioner noted that in addition to being a screening and care initiative, the exercise is expected to go a long way in ensuring that cervical cancer issues are reduced or eliminated in the State.

“The ECHO programme will support  and move the state forward in cancer care,  and most especially ensure that qualitative  information and intervention, in prevention and control of cervical cancer  is brought to the poor and to  translate to a reduction in our maternal mortality.” 

Sustainable Development Goal 3, targets the reduction of 
the mortality rate in non-communicable diseases by one third between 2015-2030. 

COVID-19 death rate will drop by 94% in 2022, WHO analysis reveals

By Sola Charles

THE World Health Organization (WHO) says COVID-19 deaths in Africa will drop to around 23,000 by the end of 2022, which is almost a 94 percent decline compared with 2021 if current variants and transmission dynamics remain constant.

According to the global health body’s new modeling projection, however, a variant that is 200 percent more lethal would cause an increase in deaths to more than 70,000 in the region over the period.

The analysis, published in The Lancet Global Health, a scientific journal, says while the African region reported 113,102 deaths in 2021 through official channels, about 1 in 3 deaths were missed and the true number of deaths was 350,000. 

Disclosing the development during a virtual online press conference, the  WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, revealed that the latest analysis suggests that estimated COVID deaths in the African region will shrink to around 60 a day in 2022.

 As of June 1, 2022, confirmed cases of COVID-19 from 55 African countries exceeded 11.7 million while over 300 million vaccinations have been administered across the continent.

Reported deaths in Africa reached  253, 954 with 9.8 million recovered. 

"Last year, we lost an average of 970 people every day. This is a catastrophically high toll. Our latest analysis suggests that estimated deaths in the African region will shrink to around 60 a day in 2022. 

“The low number of deaths expected this year is a huge achievement for the region and a testament to the efforts of countries and partners. However, the job is not yet done. Every time we sit back and relax, COVID-19 flares up again. The threat of new variants remains real, and we need to be ready to cope with this ever-present danger."

According to Moeti, a significant number of cases have also gone unreported. The study's findings infer that only one in 71 COVID-19 cases in the region are recorded and 166. 2 million infections are anticipated in 2022 compared with the estimated 227.5 million which occurred in 2021.

 Moeti explained that the gap in the number of cases and deaths in 2022 is due to increasing vaccination, improved pandemic response, and natural immunity from previous infections which, while not preventing re-infections, stop severe forms of the disease and deaths.

"We have learned many lessons on how to stay a step ahead of the virus. Now is the time to refine our response and identify populations most at-risk of COVID-19. Countries must intensify efforts to conduct a targeted response that provides the most vulnerable people with the health services they need, including COVID-19 vaccines and effective treatment."

The analysis shows that the variation in the number of deaths was driven by biological and physical factors, and primary comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, HIV, and obesity which increase the severity and the risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients. The prevalence of these comorbidities increased in countries with higher death tolls.

SCI seeks empowerment of women, girls today for better tomorrow

By Sola Charles

 

Children Child Right Advocacy club from C&S Primary School Majidun celebrating 2022 International Women's Day with drama, rhymes, debate and posters in Ikorodu Lagos, with support from SCI GSK INSPIRING project

FAMILIES, communities, and government at the national, state, and local government levels need to empower Nigerian women and girls for the future by promoting and protecting their rights to quality education, a healthy start in life, and end all forms of gender-based violence in a bid to #BreakTheBias.

They also need to join hands in making the society free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination against girls and women – but respect and celebrate their potential and contributions to creating a “sustainable tomorrow” for all. 

Making the call on the occasion of the 2022 International Women’s Day, the Country Director, Save the Children International, Nigeria, (SCI), Mercy Gichuhi, noted that “Protecting the environment is about preserving the planet earth for children, girls, and women, to have a livable environment, ‘sustainable tomorrow’ and a brighter future.

According to Gichuhi, SCI Nigeria, a sustainable tomorrow is achievable.“It is about peace, survival, social and economic justice, and sustainable development. We welcome the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, ‘gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow,’ as a matter of its critical relevance in recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are exerting exemplary effort in response to climate change, building resilient communities and a more sustainable future for all children, girls, men, and women.

“One of the huge threats to ‘sustainable tomorrow’ is climate change. Climate change is a threat to the rights of children, girls, women, and particularly those living with disabilities. They are the first and worst affected by the impact of climate change whether by climate-related natural disasters or the impact of climate change on food production, access to water, livelihoods, and basic social services. 

Gichuhi urged all responsible actors, including the government, private sectors, CSOs, FBOs, CBOs, and communities to double and intensify efforts to achieve the global targets of strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.

She called for integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning; and improving education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning systems, which can save the lives of many children, girls, and women who are most affected by the climate crisis.

She said that SCI will continue to campaign and advocate with, and for the rights of the most marginalized children in Nigeria to ensure that no girl child is left behind or excluded from the opportunity to access quality, safe, free, uninterrupted, and inclusive education, health, nutrition, and other social services in a bid to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Also speaking, Purity Oriaifo, SCI’s Girl Champion said in communities today, girls continue to suffer from gender inequality.

“In conflict, displacement, and disaster situations, girls are being abducted, raped, and forced into marriage. The issues with girls extend beyond child marriage, and female genital mutilation, as it affects the girls’ entire life. Millions of girls were not privileged to enjoy their childhood but were subjected to take responsibilities they were not prepared for. That is why women, girls, and I will continue to advocate, raise awareness and fight for a gender-equal Nigeria,” she noted.

 Amanuel Mamo, Director of Advocacy and Campaign, SCI Nigeria said through the campaign, called, Girls’ Education Campaign, SCI is aiming to empower Nigerian girls and women to have a “sustainable tomorrow”, become resilient, learn, have livelihood opportunities, and make an informed decision on issues that affect them, including early, child and forced marriage.

 “Today’s girls are tomorrow’s women. We can make a difference in the lives of tomorrow’s women based on how we invest in and treat girls, today. The future is now.”

 

 

 

Nigeria’s Oladapo Ashiru, emerges 1st black IFFS Secretary General

Professor Oladapo Ashiru

 By Sola Charles

 

The President of the Academy of Medicine Specialities of Nigeria, Professor Oladapo Ashiru, has been elected the first black Secretary-General of the International Federation of Fertility Societies, IFFS, Executive Council for the 2022-2025 period.

Ashiru, who is also President of the Africa Reproductive Care Society has been Assistant Secretary-General of the global body since 2019.  

 The IFFS is the world body on fertility and a non-state organization in an official relationship with the World Health Organisation, WHO.

 An experienced professor of Anatomy/Consultant reproductive endocrinologist, and co-pioneer of In Vitro Fertilisation, IVF, in Nigeria, Ashiru was elected at the General Assembly of the World Fertility Congress in Athens, Greece.

 The new Executive leadership team has Dr. Edgar Mocanu from the United Kingdom as President, with Prof Marcus Holton from Argentina as President-elect.

 Others are Dr. Eileen Malano (Philippines), Assistant Secretary-General; Dr. RishmaPai (India), Treasurer; Dr. Lana Retchitsky (USA), Assistant Treasurer, and Prof Linda Guidice (USA) Immediate past President. The Special Envoy for International relations is Dr. Zi Jiang Chen of China. 

In a statement, Ashiru said the IFFS World Congress provides a unique platform for attendees to convene, learn and discuss current advances in reproductive health, access to fertility care, and reproductive rights across the globe, and engage the patient perspective.  He said the focus of the new executive will be on improved reproductive health throughout the globe.

 “The Nigeria Association of Fertility and Reproductive Health has been an active member of IFFS since 1986, and is also a Country member of the International Executive Board represented by its current President Dr. Ibrahim Wada.”

 On the theme of the 24th World Congress:  “Exploring New Horizons in Fertility Care”, the new Secretary-General said renowned international faculty will engage attendees, while free communications and poster sessions offer an opportunity to share cutting-edge research and explore new ideas.

 
 “The IFFS is a long-standing global organization representing National Fertility Societies since 1968. We represent over 65 UN country-specific Fertility Societies that, in the aggregate, encompass an estimated 50,000 physicians and reproduction medicine specialists worldwide, including various healthcare professionals,” Ashiru stated.

Malawi declares polio outbreak

An outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 has been declared in Malawi after a case was detected in a young child in the capital Lilongwe, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed. It is the first case of wild poliovirus in Africa in more than five years.

Laboratory analysis shows that the strain detected in Malawi is linked to the one that has been circulating in Sindh Province in Pakistan.  

In a statement, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said urgent measures are being taken to forestall the spread.

 

“As long as wild polio exists anywhere in the world all countries remain at risk of importation of the virus. Thanks to a high level of polio surveillance in the continent and the capacity to quickly detect the virus, we can swiftly launch a rapid response and protect children from the debilitating impact of this disease," Moeti stated.

 

According to the Polio Coordinator in the WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dr Modjirom Ndoutabe: “The last case of wild polio virus in Africa was identified in northern Nigeria in 2016 and globally there were only five cases in 2021. Any case of wild polio virus is a significant event and we will mobilize all resources to support the country’s response,”

 WHO is supporting the Malawi health authorities to carry out a risk assessment and outbreak response, including supplemental immunization. Surveillance of the disease is also being ramped up in neighbouring countries. 

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Rapid Response Team which is based at the WHO Regional Office in Africa is deploying a team to Malawi to support coordination, surveillance, data management, communications, and operations. Partners organizations will also send teams to support emergency operations and innovative vaccination campaign solutions.

 

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis within hours. The virus is transmitted from person to person mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less frequently, through contaminated water or food, and multiplies in the intestine.

While there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented through the administration of a simple and effective vaccine.

Africa was declared free of indigenous wild polio in August 2020 after eliminating all forms of wild polio from the region. Polio remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As an imported case from Pakistan, this detection does not affect the African region’s wild poliovirus-free certification status.