Strategies to Fight Hidden Hunger in Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia.

Abstract

The four countries, Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan, and Tunisia, face different nutrition challenges and have different experiences and policies in place to combat hunger. Stunting rates among children below 5 years are highest in Ethiopia and Sudan (38%) compared to Sudan and Tunisia (21 and 11-9%). Children below 5 years in Egypt and Tunisia also suffer from higher risks to become overweight and obese; 14-16% are considered overweight. Food security is limited in all countries, especially in Sudan. All four countries have nutrition and/or poverty alleviation policies in place but implementation is challenging or very weak to realize the plan. However, some successes are observed. The authors recommend that to solve the malnutrition problems in the countries: (1) implementation of the respective policies has to be given better attention than writing and approval of it, (2) it is important to consider the country-specific comparative advantage of livestock production, (3) cultivation of nutritious crops for any level of rural and urban population, and (4) and nutrition has to be put on top of the national agenda like food security. Furthermore, both national and international concerning organizations should support these countries to build their capacity in terms of technical skills and technological options.