Category Archives: food security

World Water Week: Addressing Water and Food Security’s Effect on NTDs and Development

Africa, END7, farming, food security, Global Development, Global Health, NTDs, poverty, Water and Sanitation, World Water Week 2011

Stockholm, Sweden, August 26-31, 2012 :  The leading minds in environment, health, climate change, economics, and poverty reduction gathered in Stockholm for the annual World Water Week, hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).  Operating since 1991, the event highlights the importance of partnerships between the different fields of expertise when determining the best and most feasible solutions to global water issues.

This year, the World Water Week focused on the importance and challenges of “Water and Food Security,”, and emphasized the importance of improving sanitation and reducing wasteful practices around the globe.  More than enough food is produced to feed the world’s population, yet one billion people don’t get the nourishment they need.  Despite the one billion people going hungry, around one third of food produced is thrown away or otherwise wasted.  It is important to note even though these numbers are both astounding and frustrating, food alone will not solve this problem.  Half of malnutrition cases are related to unclean water, insufficient sanitation, or poor hygiene.

For the Global Network, this message is extremely important.  Poor sanitation and hygiene are leading factors in the spread of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).  There are nearly 500million people without access to clean water, and a greater two billion without access to a proper toilet.  An insufficient or dirty water supply, poor hygiene practices, as well as limited or no access to sanitation facilities lead to the spread of NTDs.  Improving these issues could substantially decrease NTDs, improving health and standard of living in many developing areas.  Disease and undernourishment severely limit the productivity of the work force, putting strain on the entire community.  For example, in Nigeria’s rice farming communities, contracting Schistosmiasis in the swampy farmlands can result in a loss of more than a month’s worth of labor days per person (for information about NTDs in Nigeria’s swamp rice farms, read more here ). Clean water, sanitation, and good hygiene go beyond improving health to facilitate the productivity and over all living standard of a community.  The benefits of clean and available water span across all fields of development. For World Water Week participants, this is the bottom line.

 

To learn more about the World Water Week’s purpose and agenda, check out their website at www.worldwaterweek.org

Examining the link between food security and deworming

de-worming, food security, NTDs, policy, UK government
Panel Members at Parliament Event on Food Security

Panel Members at Food Security Event in Parliament. Photo provided by Partnership for Child Development.

Today, the former president of Ghana and winner of the World Food Prize 2011, H.E John Kufuor, spoke to the U.K. Parliament about how school feeding programs can help millions of people currently living in poverty.

The event – “Linking local agriculture, nutrition and education: Innovations to improve food security” –was sponsored by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Agriculture and Food for Development and the Partnership for Child Development, Imperial College London (PCD).

In coordination with PCD and Deworm the World, the Global Network shared information at the event about combining deworming efforts with school feeding programs in order to strengthen agriculture, health and education programs.

Parasitic worm infections often undermine existing school feeding programs by causing malnutrition and anemia even in children who are well-fed.  Additionally, school-based deworming programs have been linked to improved school attendance and performance, as well as increased earning potential over the long-term.

At the Global Network we’ve often touted the successes of integrating the work of Ministries of Health and Education.  Combining this work with Ministry of Agriculture efforts to create predictable demand for agriculture products will provide a more comprehensive approach to food security that could change the reality of poverty and hunger across the developing world.  Now that’s innovation!

For more information on the event, click .