The Zambia Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition Alliance has described as unacceptable the latest Global Hunger Index ranking which placed Zambia as the third hungriest nation in the world.
According to the 2015 World Hunger Index released this week, Zambia is ranked the third hungriest country in the world after Chad and the Central African Republic.
CSO-SUN Zambia Acting Coordinator Eneyah Phiri said the ranking is unacceptable especially that the country has been recording of successive Maize bumper harvests for close to seven years.
Mr Phiri said the latest ranking shows that Zambia still has more to do to improve the nutritious status of its people.
He has since called on Government to use the latest Global Hunger Index findings to intensify its nutrition development interventions.
“We have always said that this country has not been doing very well with respect to providing nutrition for its people, so the ranking is not shocking but it is unacceptable because if you examine the countries that are grouped with Zambia on the Index, these are countries that have witnessed civil strife in the recent times but Zambia has been peaceful for 51 years, it is unacceptable,” Mr Phiri said.
He added, “The ranking just confirms what we have always said about Zambia. We have around 40 percent of our children stunted and we hope this will serve as a call to action for all of us to do more so that Zambia can improve its ranking next year.”
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) recently compiled says Zambia is the third country in the world with highest hunger levels first been CAR and then Chad.
The GHI is compiled by International Food Policy Research Institute, a Washington-DC based agricultural research centre, with German development and humanitarian aid organization Welthungerhilfe and Irish Non-profit Concern Worldwide, scores developing countries based on four metrics.
The Index measures the proportion of undernourished people as a percentage of the population, the proportion of children under the age of 5 who suffer from wasting, the proportion of children under 5 who suffer from stunting and the mortality rate of children under the age of 5.
A staggering 52 developing countries are suffering from “serious” or “alarming” levels of hunger, according to the newly-released Global Hunger Index (GHI).
East Timor, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Niger and Yemen made up the remainder of the top 10 countries most affected by hunger in 2015, all falling in the “serious” to “alarming” categories.
“Armed conflict and hunger are strongly associated. The countries with the highest GHI scores tend to be those engaged in or recently emerged from war,” the report accompanying the index said.
“It is perhaps not surprising that the first two of these three countries have been plagued with high hunger levels, given the violent conflict and instability their people face.”
Hunger under PF government, let’s go PF minions
Ati filibwino ifintu mu Zambia
Look at those listening to him, they look starved.
3rd in the world, since when? Zambia export maize to poverty stricken Malawi, even Ethiopia and south Sudan better than Edgar’ government? Does Kambwili know these things.
LUNGU IS KILLING OUR CHILDREN AND OUR ELDERLY. IMAGINE HUNGER IN THE LAND OF PLENTY. LOOK AT BOTSWANA, THERE IS VIRTUALLY NO CROP PRODUCTION HERE, YET THE CITIZENS ARE WELL FED. MINISTRY OF HEALTH PROVIDES FREE NUTRITIOUS FOOD TO ALL UNDER 5 CHILDREN. THIS IS NOW WHAT WE CALL A CARING GOVERNMENT, NOT THIS JAMESON WHO IS ONLY PREOCCUPIED WITH STEALING MONEY FROM THE NATIONAL TREASURY, AND HE IS STEALING EVERY BLESSED DAY.
I get worried when people say things like this, you think people suddenly became hungry? listen to what CSO-SUN has been speaking about this issue since they came into the existence.
This country’s over dependence on maize and failure to integrate other foods (even from other cultures) into our diet is what has caused this. 50+ years and we still have petty thinking like this yet you expect development.
Such an issue is not political but to be sure politicians should do something about it. ECL has spoken about it several times but you seem to turn a deaf ear to what he has to say hence your unfortunate assertions.
The truth hurts. The rich in Zambia eat too much and are fat with no regard to the masses going hungry every day as they feast on cholesterol behind their high wall fences.
There’s real poverty in Zambia for the poor unemployed masses scrambling for food!
Major problem I have noticed in this country is laziness and lack of innovative ideas. Many people still think that the government should move into their households to feed them! It does not matter how many times we are going to change political leaders but if the mentality of majority zambians don’t change problem will keep worsening. Just see how people worship those political leaders they support.
The Paya Farmer in there advert have lied that they have given over 1million farmers inputs in 2015.If it so why are we still hungry and why is meal meal so expensive. Its so embarrassing to be a Zambian.So people are very mad , always wearing Tribal Glasses they cant see beyond there tribe that HH is the only savior in this race.PF and Lungu have failed if you want to bring Zimbabwe to Zambia then hell be with you.
In reality, Zambia is number 1 for hunger because the other two countries are either at war or have armed conflict within their borders. How can a country at peace for over 50 years still be starving while producing maize “surpluses” every year that get exported to neighbouring countries. While Zambians are starving, Chakolwa earned himself K23m in one year. How much chewing does this thug want to do?
Argue with statistics mune, not on tribal line iwe Hyna Phiri…..the maize has been sold to Malawi and Zimbabwe by PF…what is your argument. And this ranking is actually modest, Zambia is hungrier than war torn Central African Republic
This is very sad and extremely embarrassing given the fact that Zambia has been independent for 51 years and has had no wars like some other African nations—and yet continues to spiral downward in terms of development. For instance, under this same Index mentioned in the article above, Rwanda is doing far much better than Zambia, notwithstanding the fact that they went through a terrible time of war some 22 years ago. The major problem in Zambia has been visionless leadership, who appear to care less about development, seem to have no clue on how to develop our country, or are just in it for personal gain. In spite of Zambia currently being among the top 10 copper producing countries in the world, we’ve seen very little, in terms of revenue, to show for it. And partly it’s because of…
(Continued)…poor government negotiators, who, more often than not, fall prey to some greedy and unscrupulous investors, who have no respect for our people, pollute the air with impunity, and destroy the environment. And in the end, we lose a big chunk of our wealth to these foreign vultures, who take a disproportionate amount of the profits out of our country, and leave us holding an empty bag. And as long as we continue to put in office mediocre and corrupt leaders, we should never expect the circumstances to change for the better. Go to YouTube and watch the video entitled: “Stealing Africa: What Poverty?” and see what’s happening to our copper in Zambia.
The nation of Israel produces enough food to feed itself, and export, in spite of the fact that their land is unsuitable…
(Continued)…for agriculture, and the desert covers more than half of it. Their climate is also unfavorable, and they have a scarcity of water. And yet they’ve managed to develop agricultural technology to get the job done. Zambia has abundant arable land, and plenty of water, and therefore our failure to even manage to produce adequate food for internal consumption, and maintain steady food security, is not just embarrassing but also very shameful.
Its because of the failed & visionless PF of Lungu with his violent bandits!
Under PF Zambia is a failed State.
On 11~8 all Zambians to Dununa Lungu & Dununa his PF minions out of power. Vote for HH & UPND to move Forward with a better economy.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
Your attack is misdirected because clearly the indexing is up to 2015! This kind of unnecessary hatred towards others is part of the problem. You refuse to work because one in leadership is not one of your choice!
@ Kabu
Your refusal to dismiss reality borders with partisan 1mbecility. Facts are clear, either 2014 or 2015, who is responsible? Leadership (Lol) must accept responsibility. Nothing to do with hatred, but everything to do with incompetence and corruption.
This is pseudo and politically motivated, where is DR Congo, Malawi, Zimbabwe
My friend you should travel..the economies may be bad in the countries you have mentioned but the citizens there have 3 balanced meals a day.
Because Zambia feed them with all the maize, leaving own people starving.
Sontapo PF.
This is the idyotcy of PF cadres. They look to the neighbouring countries to prove that our poverty, powercuts, hunger, stoopidity, dictatorship etc are global and we should not complain. What is good about starving with your neighbours when there is so much abundance in the country? Why celebrate being incrementally better than another completely mismanaged country like Zimbabwe? Why this mediocrity?!
Why are we even surprised! Lung is always traveling across the globe running away from key issues and uses it as an escape goat. He has gotten rich within a short duration of time including his ministers. Increasing chiefs salaries to get a vote with no real reason as to why they got an increase. Buying cars for whoever, chartering a private jet, traveling outside for medical treatment. People are not being paid their salaries and money being diverted to campaigns and bribing PF cadres with peoples salaries. He just flushed the economy down the toilet. No wonder ex-diplomats have applied for refugee status in North America. Some are in Zambia while their families live abroad and travel freely to visit.
This is happening under the watch of a crooked deceitful president named Lungu.
Despite the hunger in Zambia he bribes electorates by offering free entry into the trade fair instead using the money to buy much needed drugs in hospitals
These are actions from a so called born again president
This is rubbish.! We know who America is supporting in this coming elections…! Where were the samples taken I wonder..?
Samples were taken from your a$$
The samples were taken in your backyard. Do your cadres have a square meal every day when they are fed on chibuku?
I don’t believe that this report is true. Zambia hungriest? Come on guys, we’re feeding the entire southern Africa with maize most of it even smuggled out. Even the UN peace keeping can confirm we are number one in supplying this commodity to various war torn countries including Chad. I really don’t know what this report means saying really.
It means that you are exporting everything but leaving nothing for the locals to eat. This report did not measure agricultural production but HUNGER. You have “exported” everything to Mugabe but has he paid for the maize? You are donating to Malawi but there is nothing for your own people to eat back home. This is what happens when you have people who do not understand the word SERVICE as your leaders!!!!!!
You are feeding Southern Africa with your maize which your people can’t even afford
That’s the harsh reality and it’s time to wake up
You $tupid simpleton,take a walk to any compound and ask a simple question on eating patterns.They will tell you once a day in the evening consisting of nshima and rape.Not even a dog in some countries eats that bad.In Botswana,i witnessed simple tyre menders each eating 2 buns, a mixture of beans and chifu and drinking 500ml of maheu just for lunch.In Zambia,its just poverty everywhere.
This is fake assessment whic tools did they use, what position is zimbabwe,drc,malawi,angola bcoz these depend on zambia.this is nonse and unacceptable
This is nothing compared to what will happen should tyrant Lungu rig his way back in power on 12th August. The last thing Zambians want is Lungu to be anywhere near state house. He must be banished to Chawama for good. This visionless thug President has caused so much hunger,anger and suffering in our land. We must handover Lungu to the Hague for committing crimes against Zambians. Forward with HH,GBM & UPND.
When we say you cant eat roads,this is what we are talking about.
AND YET GOVT IS BOOSTING OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WHEN ORDINARY ZAMBIANS ARE HUNGRY AND SUFFERING.
CAN ECL STAND UP AND RESPOND WITH A PLAN? AS EXPECTED HE WILL BE SILENT…
LUNGU IS KILLING OUR CHILDREN AND OUR ELDERLY. IMAGINE HUNGER IN THE LAND OF PLENTY. LOOK AT BOTSWANA, THERE IS VIRTUALLY NO CROP PRODUCTION HERE, YET THE CITIZENS ARE WELL FED. MINISTRY OF HEALTH PROVIDES FREE NUTRITIOUS FOOD TO ALL UNDER 5 CHILDREN. THIS IS NOW WHAT WE CALL A CARING GOVERNMENT, NOT THIS JAMESON WHO IS ONLY PREOCCUPIED WITH STEALING MONEY FROM THE NATIONAL TREASURY, AND HE IS STEALING EVERY BLESSED DAY. WHICH IS WHY EVERY WELL MEANING ZAMBIAN MUST REJECT LUNGU’S GOVERNMENT THIS AUGUST. LET US PUT OUR VOTES TOGETHER AND VOTE FOR HH AND THE UPND TEAM. WE AAL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE ZAMBIA A BETTER PLACE TO BE.
This is not even shocking why even argue when you have a visionless chakolwa ***** Lungu. Thts why he needs to go.
I have before done research for IFPRI and their definition of hunger is based on nutrition indicators for the under 5 vulnerable group. Bob Marley sung “them belly full, but we hungry” alluding to those in political power, thus they assume that all are well fed. Ubwali na repu (nsima with veggies), although filling, isn’t nutritious for a child. The wanton wastefulness during election period is immoral and shameful. This is the strongest condemnation of the PF regime and cannot be explained away as UPND or USA inspired/doctored report. With IMF austerity conditions awaiting the PF regime should they win elections (God forbid!), this hunger index will plummet further. An immediate substitution is needed to change the game plan for team Zambia. Ni Forward chabe with team HH now!
Let’s be realistic for a change. When you look at the reports from 1990, Zambia has been doing badly but the indicators are actually better now than they have been. This is not having nothing to eat but not eating nutritious food which is engrained in the Zambia culture. Zambians needs a culture change
@Nkope shinyenga, your country behaves at national level the way you behave at domestic level. I know households who only have good nutrition when important visitors call; I know towns that fix roads and clean up garbage when an important politician visits. Why are you PRETENDING to be feeding Southern Afrika when all you are NOT selling your surplus but trying to LOOK good in the eyes of your so-called international partners… USELESS.
The problem with our country is that profiteering has lost all morality. While in most countries (INCLUDING wartorn countries) food is usually off-limits from profiteering and manipulation, Zambia treats food the same way it treats its cash commodities like copper. You have cartels for everything: maize, copper, soya, even finished goods like alcohol from abroad. How can you fail to hit disgraced lists?? Add to that a clueless population that thinks peace means absence of violence and you have a perfect storm!
We should just start eating the roads since we have spent all our money on them.
some organizations will churn whatever their puppeteers throws at them in order to support their goons to ascend to power at all means. Only daft kalusa followers will fall for this! I cant remember seeing children with kwashiokor except some look alikes stuffed with mabisi and some stunted women starved off by stingy husbands not used to spending on food. It is such characters with archaic cultures who are denting the image of the country and they turn around ati the government is starving us- get a life bafi colour!
You are so full of hate my friend that it will eat any joy you may have left. For you everything can be defended by conspiracy theories. Get a life and look at the harsh realities under which our people find themselves in for lack of a vision. Stop your tribalism tendencies maybe you may be something in life.
Kaili in Zed government wants HH to donate all his hard earned cattle to the poor to show that he is a good leader mean while ministers areally smuggling maize. Lubinda and company were exposed by tayali to date no one has lifted a finger “Zambians are docile” as FTJ once said. Deadnbc will have spokesman blaming HH and GBM for the hunger any minute from now.
One day I visited Kanyama and was shown a family that eats ONE meal daily at 16h00 as they cannot afford more!
I was shattered and thought of the food we throw in the rubbish pit. Brethren, let those of us who are rich and privileged share with our compatriots.
Many of the rich have ballooned bellies, gout, sugar disease (diabetes) , hypertension (BP) , severe obesity cause of gluttonous over eating. Yet our neighbours in kalikiliki, marapodi are starving.
God bless the poor.
This man can not even put up a proper defence…he thinks its everyone who eats this selfsame bumper harvest…its only bo Lubinda and his corrupt FRA officials benefitting from illegally exporting it.
Those who claim that there’s no malnutrition should just visit one of the clinics in the compounds or even UTH children’s wing. We are not doing well as a nation in terms of nutrition. We have severe under-nutrition mostly among children with over-nutrition among adu
They got their facts wrong. We have plenty of food here in Zambia to sustain us upto next year.From Livingstone upto Nakonde you will find food displayed for sale by farmers and traders by the road. From Lundazi(eastern province) upto Mongu(Western province) same story. Its fresh organic food from the farm not GMOS. They must have visited Zambia`s neighbors if there is still any lacking food. WE ARE THE BREAD BASKET FOR CENTRAL AFRICA.
Guys,
It is the machinations of the West to discredit the PROGRESSIVE PF GOVERNMENT…As we run up to the elections.They are indirectly supporting their “puppet”,in order to plunder our natural resources, should he win!
We know you are supporting lungu because he is a closet Muslim. During Ramadan he was nowhere to be seen.
Most of You Asians thrive in a country where the locals are suffering as you have a stranglehold on the economy and only work with your fellow Asians. You have been thriving in zambia since independence yet the country and the people are striving.
As a matter of fact you Asians are the are some of the most racist people. In India blacks are hunted like animals.
This is worrying indeed although the report clearly states that a good # of countries such as Burundi, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Eritrea, Comoros, DRC, etc that where in the very alarming category did not submit data. This is a metric that is restricted to nutrition & has been measured since 2000. It is folly to think Zambia has just acquired this rank this year. The more reliable metric is the UN Human Development Index measuring quality of life where Zambia has posted a 40.1% improvement as @ 2014 & leads other sub-Saharan countries in the top 15 & is top 3 in SADC. God Bless Zambia
I can’t believe this nonsense because Zambia can not be compared to Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, etc. Can someone educate me on how they come up with these things
The cost of living comrade. You can have all the bumper harvest in the world but if people have no jobs and can’t afford to eat you have hunger because the masses can not eat the roads PF are boasting about.
The die hard PF will trash this statement. I sometimes wonder if we live in the same country because I see poverty all around me. I dread to think of what will happpen to most household after August assuming PF wins and the austerities set in
This is a fake report.How can Zambia be the third hungriest when in the Southern region we are the ones feeding these other countries ? These are UPND lies manufactured with cow dung.
You can be feeding the region but your people have no jobs, no money to buy food.
When people say we need jobs because we can’t eat roads the kaponyas say sontapo.
Yes, this is an article that is not only manufactured with cow dung but add all the rubbish that you can think of. How on earth can a country that is feeding quarter of Africa be the third hungriest nation in the world? If all parties in the past had been as desperate as UPND to win elections, Armageddon would have come a long time ago.
Law enforcement agencies, please take HH’s Armageddon threats seriously because the man is desperate to go to state house, even if it means killing all Zambians
Again , I will say it slowly , people need jobs to get money to buy food. Inflation at 21% food is too expensive for most zambians.
There are no jobs .only the PF who have been looting the erobonds by charging us $1million /km instead of $400K are not starving.
You can sontapo the roads all day but people can’t afford to eat.
Each time we read something from the Western led institutions we should avoid taking it “hook, line and sinker” (as gospel truth)! SOME of the organisations talking about hunger in African countries want to force the agenda of GMOs on all African countries to achieve total control of the continent. However, we also need to be mindful that the report is talking about nutrition or lack of it. In Zambia we are not nutrition conscious with our diet and we are quit removed from our traditional foods especially in urban areas; people eat bread and a cup of tea for breakfast-how much nourishment is there? You rarely find people eating nourishing food like ifyumbu fya kusaashila ( sweet potatoes mixed with groundnut paste),roasted cassava with groundnuts or icasa lya kusaashila etc. We rarely…
..continued..We rarely eat beans in our homes which is a low cost but good source of nutrition. Some laugh at people who eat ifinkubala or mabisi – nutritious foods indeed! Before, the National Food and Nutrition Commission used to be active educating people especially in rural areas on how to balance the diet using local foods but these days we don’t even know if that Institution exists or not! We have food around all we need is to change our attitudes and eating habits!
Walasa………thats a good contribution….
For sure, it is a hiden agenda to ‘force GMOs on all African countries to achieve total control of the continent’. In the end ‘they’ will come with ideas to ‘help reduce hunger’, thereby introducing ‘foods with high nutritional value’.
When you look at the previous reports, Zambia has been improving since 1995 and the 2015 results are an improvement from the previous result though of course much more improvement is needed.
Our nutrition is poor because we only think of ubwali all the time. Our west African colleagues grow different foods at household level. They love to eat well they proudly grow corn, sorghum, yam, cassava, plantain, millet, and all types starch. Fruit to them is important and they grow them and eat like no man’s business. How many zambians would think of growing simple fruits like pawpaw and cucumbers and pineaples fruit? Talk of our neighbors in Tanzania. Those who’ve been there know that their diet is rich. They can proudly plant anything edible and you’ll find it on the market. What has killed us is the mentality of thinking farming means suffering. Most of those who bought houses under the late president Chiluba never went to the village. They’ve instead decided to stay mu town…
this does not mean that we are hunger stricken people. we produce enough to feed ourselves and neighbors.
LT, I attached a link to the report. Why have you deleted it, you don’t want people to read on their own????
Even if we have to be patriotic, you can’t defend the undefendable. 60% of the maize you are boasting about is exported for forged Kwacha from DRC which means exporting for nothing. Lubinda corruptly exports 30%, GBM 9%. What remains for Zambians is 1%. Tayali is now tired of blowing the whistle. If people are buying sliced sausages like coins or tokens, begging for salt, mealie meal, lunch, breakfast, matches, buying road tax for a quarter, insurance for 3 months, what does it mean? Ballot papers being printed outside the country, all contracts being awarded to foreign companies, none payment of suppliers, election chairs, tables being imported by ECZ, potatoes oranges being imported from outside all these mean money being exported.
To those screaming maize and bumper harvests. maize is not enough to make up the daily nutritional needs.
Also with the mealie meal prices high and peoples income low. how many actually eat enough. how many people even get to the daily caloric need?
“This is worrying indeed although the report clearly states that a good # of countries such as Burundi, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Eritrea, Comoros, DRC, etc that where in the very alarming category did not submit data. This is a metric that is restricted to nutrition & has been measured since 2000. It is folly to think Zambia has just acquired this rank this year. The more reliable metric is the UN Human Development Index measuring quality of life where Zambia has posted a 40.1% improvement as @ 2014 & leads other sub-Saharan countries in the top 15 & is top 3 in SADC. God Bless Zambia” quote from the chosen one.
miners working for KCM are starving like no mans business. engineers are getting less than K6000 and no allowance is attached, Indian technicians or helpers are getting not less than K30,000. foolish people will be saying don’t just rely on your job find other things to do. Truthful speaking during the MMD government if a person is working, the money one was getting at the end of the month was enough for rentals, education, food, entertainment and something to keep in the bank. in the case of Indians its easy for them to improve their farms than us Zambians. our copper is finishing while Zambia is getting poor and poorer. while all this injustice is taking place lungu is mute, dear zambians work up and vote for visionary leaders like HH.
The position mentioned as Zambia being the 3rd hungriest country in the world is not true and the reporter is just being used by donors and masters who are hypocrites to further fanning the call that Zambia is collapsing yet are same buggers milking our mines. Why don’t they say Zambia is the 3rd country in the world being ripped off its wealth by these hypocrite investors from their countries.
There are countries far worse than Zambia but this is not our true ranking and the so called society has no direction, not even inspiring message to the people. What effective and tangible roll the society has played over the period of years if it claims that it has been mentioning about this.
When the wicked are in power things go wrong. It is a sign to show that God is not happy with the current government. God exposes those who pretend to be God fearng but are wolves in sheep’s skin. You cannot mock God.