Malnutrition in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe, a country in southern Africa, is suffering from many diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. "One in four human beings is malnourished" in Africa, but Zimbabwe is near the deep end with almost 12,000 children alone suffering from severe malnutrition (Turner 8). The government is controlled by totalitarian Robert Mugabe. Ruling through disillusionment, Mugabe blames the West for the problems in Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe 2). Zimbabweans suffer from lack of food, sustenance, and the politicization of food, but these can be fixed by the fortification of basic foods, the resolution of the political problems in Zimbabwe, and continuing aid from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

If people do not have enough food, or cannot afford food, they will most likely not have enough nutrients in their diets. The Mugabe regime is "[violating] the core obligations of the rights to health, water, food, and work" (Sollom 38). Even if Mugabe had been allowing the Zimbabwean citizens these rights, they would not have been able to afford the food they need. What was once Africa's breadbasket is now living in poverty (Tsvangiari 1). Sixty-two percents of Zimbabweans are living on less than one dollar per day, according to Hazel Chinake. So even if they could afford food, the Zimbabwean people would be starving. Under the white minority rule in what was then called Rhodesia, roughly one fourth of the population was affected with malnutrition.

When a diet consists mainly of fillers, it may eliminate starvation, but it misses key nutrients. The basic fillers are rice, corn, and wheat – cheap crops that can be grown almost anywhere in the world. In Africa, the main crops are generally sorghum and millet, used to feed both the people and any animals the people might own. While "most people only eat meat twice a year at most", there are still some Zimbabweans that live off of a completely grain diet (Sollom 37). However, prices soar for basic foods, too. Mugabe ordered the seizure of white-owned farms in 2000, which lowered the agricultural production, thus lowering the internal economy of Zimbabwe and access to food, as well.

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