Hunger and Food Security: Our View...

Mutebi Eddie
 Union of Community Development Volunteers
P.O. BOX 35792,
KAMPALA – UGANDA
+256 414 690 897/ +256 782 713 500
ucdvolunteers@yahoo.com

Hunger and malnutrition are said to be the number one health threat worldwide. Fatality-wise World Food Program (WFP) rates it higher than HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis –combined. There are numerous causes of hunger that can be told. WFP suggests the following key causes: conflict, poverty, poor agricultural infrastructure and overexploitation of the environment. 

Besides, there is silent hunger characterized by micronutrient deficiencies –which make people susceptible to infectious diseases, impair physical and mental development, reduce labor productivity, and increase the risk of premature deaths. Estimates from WFP show 925 million people under-malnourished. In Uganda WFP has done well to better the hunger situation in north eastern region (Karamoja) by extending assistance to families in form of nutritional supplements and education. 

Reports show 1 of every 6 children born with low birth rate due to under-malnutrition among pregnant women in developing countries. The trends threaten survival of the human race. The government of Uganda set up parallel programs for poverty alleviation, environment protection, and pacification of violent-prone regions. Among them are the Poverty eradication Action Plan (PEAP), Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA), National Forestry Authority (NFA), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) and the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) supported by a series of NGOs which monitor and partner with them. 

The Hunger situation is however still huge, mostly affected by corruption, double standards showed by government on efforts to conserve the environment and limited budget allocation to agricultural sector (not more than 5%). As the population grows (now at 31 million) with increased unemployment and subsequent poverty levels and at 1.2 growth rate every year, social and life systems will continue to suffer. Already unemployment of the youth has been placed at 83% by the new African Development Indicator report. This creates a cycle of negligent, violence (or civil strife), disease, ignorance, poverty and back to hunger. Amidst such human evils Marxist tendencies could evolve as a means to fight hunger and search for human dignity (access to jobs, enabling fiscal policies, and accountability systems) –a situation similar to the 2011 revolutions outbreak in the Arab World. 

Yet by the time it reached national and global movement families and social ties had been broken through negligent and neglect of social obligations and encroaching on private or environmentally inhabitable areas. It is always likely that the starving people will indeed use violence and other unethical means to find food while in turn private owners turn to the same tool to defend their wealth (or land and plantations). 

The Union of Community Development Volunteers has been at the forefront of interventions aimed at transforming lives of most in-need and marginalized communities through agro-forestry with special emphasis of previous extinct locally shriving species, biodiversity development, ecosystems development and eco-tourism, environment and biodiversity conservation (all under the scope of environment protection), vulnerable children care and education with emphasis that they are nurtured in cultures and communities we find them among, safe-water access, partnerships, advocacy and volunteerism –using the youth as the agents of change. The youth actions do not only positively impact the communities they work among but themselves, as well. The millennium development goals stipulate the need to halve hunger by 2015 as most top agenda. 

Despite efforts to address rising hunger, it continues to paralyze human security. Malnutrition affects 32.5% of children in developing countries –negatively affecting both their physical and mental development. Them, pregnant women, disabled and elderly are most at risk. It can be noted from reports issued by international organizations that war, population growth (at 31 million) and poverty (with 37% below poverty line), poor development support infrastructure, climate change and poor agricultural attitudes are primary agents of hunger. As a result an estimated 600,000 Ugandans have already become food insecure. Vulnerability to illnesses and death turns out to be the most imminent situation as food and psychological insecurity breeds violence (including domestic and social strife) –a vehicle to the already menacing hunger. Hunger as a credible cause of social disruption and a product of decision-making ills and socio-economic mishaps needs redress. 

The diminishing cultural solidarity and leadership, the dying sense of community, de-culturalisation and language extinction due to socioeconomic and political dominance of other communities and cultures, who take central roles from, and interest from governments and have done so since the colonial era. As a consequence, they got compromised to abandon what is their own and disguise for something else in order to be considered for the share of national resources. 

The lack of political participation and economic share cause so many other miseries, including poverty, ignorance, and disease. While attempting to deal with the long-term structural problems, UCDV thus took the responsibility to itself to alleviate health concerns through safe-water access, ignorance through education access for vulnerable children, and food security through youth employment access and environment protection while dealing with the structural problems through advocacy, volunteerism and partnership development.

Is there Good and Bad Corruption?

Jacob Waiswa
Peace and Conflict Center
P.O. Box 7062,
Makerere University
Kampala-Uganda
jwaiswa@arts.mak.ac.ug

The word corruption has widely been used to mean misuse of public and digressing to the norms of administration within an organization. It involves buying favors, or paying for assistance –where such payments are not necessary. It also about incompetence and failure to deliver public goods as obliged by virtue of holding a public office.

As a consequence of corruption, the poor have failed to benefit from national development initiatives as the funds are swindled long before they trickle down them. Because the political and economic structure denotes that the very few privileged people far aloof, funds fail to trickle through when they are tasked to implement development programs.

Yet, successful program implementation will mean breaking the structure along with their privileges -a huge cost they will not want to see. According to them, peace is peace if the structure is preserved as long as possible. Any attempt to break it comes with serious losses of human life.

A ruling dynasty has shaped up like that of the legendary banana republic who control the national economy with a handful of friends and those who through compromise succeed at breaking the thick protective dynastic wall.

The services or infrastructure build are either appalling or short-lived. Officials who are charged with ensuring the implementation of government programs employ many middlemen –with whom to share huge commissions while leaving less or nothing evident on the ground. That can be frustrating for those who cannot buy the favors or give tokens of appreciations in order to genuinely receive government services.

There are, however, instances were upon satisfaction of work done or in helping process a need to its final stage, a beneficially may feel so happy that he or she gives a token of appreciation to the government representative.

The disadvantage, though, is that while tokens of appreciation mutually benefit both parties and may be for the common good, it could become a norm in the near future. It would mean an obligation of every Ugandan to have money every time nations seek public services –more so quality ones. Here the poor ones lose out.

Ability to offer rewards makes some people more powerful than the others. In case of political elections, it is never easy to win without a powerful wealthy source of money. No wonder, incumbents in Africa are diamonds to break in nation’s general elections. It is ever the opposition politicians who cry foul.

It is made even worse when government moves to break opposition parties’ source of funding that are interpreted as a strong motivation to overthrow government. Foreign governments that offer support to the opposition are soon labelled enemies of the regime while individuals involved are promptly arrested and charged for treason.

It is irresistible for the rural poor to accept money given when back home there is no food. Such a temporary motivation to love a leader who until election time was not concerned about them worked for the incumbents.

The rural areas are homo-ideological, most inclined to the present and respond easily to fear of the unknown and threats from government representatives. It, for a long time, becomes tooth and nail to change such a government democratically.

The same is the case with 'generosity': if misery of the population penetrates the heart of a leader, he or she donates items or money to improve their lives. To the Ugandan politician, donation is never so parse, but political capital for reinvesting themselves into the lives of their electorate.

In the other sense, the donation goes on to build strong links and relationship between the donating person or country and the recipients. Such a relation is never easy to break down as the case with the national resistance movement and the rural majority supporters. Despite dying due to simple and preventable diseases, dropping out of school and massive starvation, the relationship remains unshakable.

Within corruption, now, are opportunities for engaging it. Non-government organizations are mushrooming to benefit from the desperate need to arrest the situation. However, with corruption well socially, economically, culturally and spiritually structurally made concreted one wonders whether those organizations will not fall prey by compromising with the big corruption system that has been seen grow over years.

Showing generosity and appreciation is not limited to politics; it all begins from the relation between two dating individuals, forming a family and that family getting absorbed into the wider society. At the level of courtship, it will be a show of power through giving generously –considered good for a romantic relationship.

The same will be at famine level when children are initiated into earning money as a reward for doing well or to support good behaviors. Besides, it can be argued that good corruption is one that supports mutual relationship while the bad one destroys it, which guarantees fairness rather than discriminate and limit achievement of citizens’ dreams. We can only avoid corruption if we can avoid the good and bad corruption. How possible is that?