From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:ZAMBIA: MALNUTRITION GROWS AS FOOD PRICES RISE
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 13:56:12 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Africa, east
Reference: Agriculture
Title: ZAMBIA: MALNUTRITION GROWS AS FOOD PRICES RISE


an inter press service feature

by jowie mwiinga

lusaka, dec 28 (ips) -- to some people in zambia's northern
luapula province, the exceptionally high incidence of blindness
in their communities suggests an evil shaman, or some engraged
god at work.

dubbed the blind province by social workers, luapula one of
the least developed of the country's ten provinces, has a
history of widespread blindness, attributed by the uninformed to
some psychic force or other.

however, the problem is less sinister, but equally
disturbing: widespread malnourishment is responsible for the eye
defects suffered by the poor not only in luapula, but in other
parts of the country.

according to local food and agricultural organisation (fao)
representative dr j.j.de castro, vitamin-a deficiency lies at
the core of the problem.

''vitamin-a defieciency is a well known problem in certain
parts of zambia leading to different degrees of blindness. it is
especially prevalent in the valley areas of luapula province'',
he said.

recently, fao embarked on an ambitious programme, with
the government's food and nutrition commission, to address the
problem by promoting the production and consumption of
vitamin-a rich foods.

these are dairy products and eggs -- an expensive luxury in
parts of the country -- and a variety of plant foods including
yellow maize, spinach and cassava.

vitamin-a deficiency does not only cause blindness, it
retards growth. around 60 percent of children afflicted die
within their first year.

''we are confident that the problem in luapula will be
solved, but there are indications that the problem exists
elsewhere'', castro said.

moreover, the vitamin-a defiency is only the tip of
zambia's malnourishment iceberg.

as the year 2,000 draws closer, the government is reluctantly
coming to terms with the fact that the realisation of food security
has grown more remote since independence 28 years ago.
(more/ips)


zambia: malnutrition (2)

while food availability has risen markedly on a global level
over the past three decades, it has actually dropped in zambia.

globally, food security rose from 2,290 calories per person
per day in the early sixties to 2,700 in the early ninties.

in zambia, it fell from 2,094 to 2,065 calories, according to
the food security bulletin of the ministry of health. protein
availability fell from 629 grams a day to 569.

this means food availability in zambia remained below the
basic requirement of 2,300 calories per day.

''compared to the global trends, this illustrates that
producing enough food in the world is not enough to solve
the problems of hunger and malnutrition. globally, there is
enough food for all the problem lies in unequal
distribution'', the fao representaive said.

new agricultural policies devised by the government over the
past one year are expected to enhance food production. however,
access to food will remain a problem for a considerable part of
the population, which does not have the means to afford it.

the movement for multiparty democaracy (mmd) government
recently pegged the producer price of the staple maize to the
american dollar in a move designed to encourage farmers to
produce more of the staple.

but in the year since the mmd was elected to power, the
retail price of maize has risen by 600 percent as subsidies are
removed.

the previous government of kenneth kaunda customarily
suppressed producer prices in a bid to keep consumer prices down
-- a strategy that attracted farmers away from food crops to the
production of more lucrative cash crops.

the mmd -- in line with its donor-driven economic adjustment
programme -- has liberalised the sale and distribution of
fertilisers, which in the past was handled by an inefficient
state monopoly.

while liberalising the sector is likely to enhance
production, in the short-term it will push food prices further
beyond the reach of the poor. (end/ips/jm/oa/92)