I have read with great interest the former posting on this blog :

” Child hunger, a moral and humanitarian issue with economic consequences (Google Alert / WFP)“

http://us.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wfp.org%2Fenglish%2F%3FModuleID%3D137%26Key%3D2507

Study finds child hunger costs Central America billions of dollars every year

I have really been touched by the content of this publication on the WFP website, in particular by a couple of sentences or statements :

“Child hunger is not only a moral and humanitarian issue, but has economic consequences as well.” -  WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran

“Any program that can effectively reduce the levels of undernutrition will not only improve the quality of life of those affected, but will also increase productivity. The larger the problem the bigger the challenge, while at the same time the potential benefits to a country’s productive capacity stands to be greater.” - José Luis Machinea, ECLAC Executive Secretary

No one will deny that child hunger and malnutrition are moral and humanitarian issues, but their economic consequences are generally overlooked. It is the great merit of this study to have focused on the costs of child hunger in Central America. Of course, its conclusions are also valid for all other developing regions: “Undernutrition has very serious long-term costs,” … and “… poverty will be perpetuated generation after generation if we don’t act to remedy the situation.”, says José Luis Machinea, ECLAC Executive Secretary.

I couldn’t agree more. So, let’s act to remedy the situation. However, how shall we act ? What are the best practices to remedy the children’s malnutrition ?

Let us take into account Machinea’s statement : “Any program that can effectively reduce the levels of undernutrition will not only improve the quality of life of those affected, but will also increase productivity.”

So, we are looking for a program to effectively reduce undernutrition ! At this point, I can’t resist thinking at UNICEF’s program to combat malnutrition in the refugee camps of the Saharawis people in the Algerian desert. It is a program aiming at construction of small family gardens and school gardens in the desert, very effectively producing sufficient fresh vegetables to complement the daily diet provided by the WFP.

Without these gardens a certain level of malnutrition was observed in the camps, but all stakeholders involved are nowadays convinced that these refugees do not need an expensive, huge aid program to tackle their food problems (and child malnutrition), the small family gardens producing sufficient fresh food to reduce and even eradicate child hunger, malnutrition and lack of vitamins or mineral elements, like iron and iodine (health problems). This means improvement of their quality of life.

To use Machinea’s words : Unicef Algeria’s family gardens and school gardens program (2006-2009) “will not only improve the quality of life of those affected, but will also increase productivity”.

Although the number of gardens is still small (some 600), but constantly growing thanks to the support of the President of the Western Sahara, the Saharawis Government, the CRS and many other authorities, UNICEF’s project is now heading towards a remarkable success.

I am convinced that the construction of small-scale family gardens and school gardens is an effective solution for child hunger, a solution that is very easy to grasp, only needing limited financial resources for a maximum return on investment.

As the results of setting up this kind of gardens are already visible a few weeks after the start of the project, motivation of the population and the children is very strong, which is stimulating their direct participation.

It goes without saying that: “at the same time the potential benefits to a country’s productive capacity stands to be greater”.

Are we still preaching in the desert ? Or is this message heard ? For the sake of the hungry children, I hope it sounds like music !

Willem