Healthy Diets Eluding Bulk of Sub-Saharan Africa's Population

Diets rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals have been out of reach for the bulk of population in sub-Saharan Africa, hence worsening the region's malnutrition crisis.

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“Transforming the continent's farming systems is key to boosting access to nutritious diets,” warned the 2020 Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition report, which was compiled by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN), UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the African Union Commission.

Three quarters of Africans cannot afford a healthy diet while 51 percent can hardly afford a nutrient adequate diet amid negative health outcomes that have reversed the continent's growth.

The number of undernourished people in Africa hit about 250.3 million in 2019 amid climatic shocks, conflicts and economic slowdown, adding that chronic poverty and rapid population growth has also derailed the continent's quest to eradicate hunger.

"Addressing the widespread malnutrition in Africa requires rethinking how the food system can be transformed to provide more nutritious food at lower cost while addressing the underlying structural constraints that make food more expensive in Africa," says the report.

Many African countries are not on track toward meeting Sustainable Development Goal 2 on ending hunger and ensuring all people have access to nutritious diet amid threat to the continent's transformation agenda.

Micronutrient deficiency has taken a toll on women, children, the elderly and rural poor, adding that plant based diets that are produced in an ecologically sound manner could be a solution to Africa's malnutrition crisis.