8/3/2019 The Way to Stop an Unfolding Food Crisis for
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Which way would you go to stop an unfolding food crisis for
children?
By Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem
University of Ghent Belgium
Drought and Desertification Consultant
http://desertification.wordpress.com/author/desertification/
Did you read my former posting on this blog?
UNICEF CHIEF URGES ACTION TO STOP UNFOLDING CRISIS FOR CHILDREN
IN THE
SAHEL.
Yes? Then you know that UNICEFs Executive Director Anthony Lake
called today on the global
community to take action to prevent one million children in the
Sahel region of West and Central
Africa from becoming severely malnourished. He said: We must
begin at once to fill the pipeline
with life-sustaining supplies to the region before it is too
late . and underscored the urgency to act
before the lean season when food runs out due to inadequate rain
or poor harvests, which can startas early as March in some of the
countries across the Sahelian belt.
I fully agree that UNICEF and its partners must be prepared to
get sufficient amounts of ready-to-use
therapeutic foods to treat severe acute malnutrition. I also
agree on each child has the right to survive,to thrive and to
contribute to their societies.
Indeed, we must not fail them!
Nice children in the Sahara desert getting healthier food with
vitamins and micronutrientsthanks to UNICEFs family gardens (Photo
WVC)
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However, the real question is if the best way of solving the
problem of child malnutrition is getting
sufficient therapeutic foods to intervene when the need
increases.
Or, could it be that a well-prepared programme of vegetable and
fruit production by the Sahelian
families themselves is a better cure?
One may doubt about the feasibility of such a programme, but
knowing that UNICEF itself was
successful with its own Family gardens project for the Sahrawis
families in the Sahara desert ofAlgeria, there cant be any doubt
anymore. If family gardens, school gardens and hospital gardens
can be productive in the desert, they can certainly be in the
Sahel, where a better rainfall offers more
chances to use the minimum of water needed.
Many families in the Sahara desert avoid malnutrition of their
children by producing fresh
vegetables and fruits in their small UNICEF garden (Photo
WVC)
It should not be extremely difficult to accept that it is better
to produce fresh food and fruits for the
children in the threatened countries of the Sahel (like
everywhere on this world!) than to have to spend
billions of dollars at purchasing therapeutic foods for children
already malnourished.
Yes, we must not fail them, and we will surely not fail them by
offering them chances to take care oftheir own family gardens and
school gardens.
In the drylands, there are ten thousands of successful small
gardens. We have the necessary knowledge
and technical skills to duplicate these best practices wherever
we want, even in the desert. Who
would still hesitate to take initiatives to gradually submerge
the Sahel with small family gardens and
school gardens?
If there is a pipeline to be filled, it should be filled with
the necessary materials to create family
gardens and school gardens.
Shall we continue to appeal on solidarity for raising billions
of dollars for responding to the
successive crisis periods in the drylands? Or shall we, once and
for all, spend a minor part of that
money on enabling sustainable food production by the local
people themselves?
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UNICEF ALGERIA representative Raymond JANSSENS, tool in hand,
visiting one of the
family gardens in the Sahara desert. Wherever a kitchen garden
flourishes, there is no more
child malnutrition! (S.W. Algeria)(Photo WVC)
You Madame, you Sir, which way would you go?
Do I still have to confirm that I admire the nice work of UNICEF
for children in real need?
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