He was speaking at a two day workshop on regional Agricultural Interventions for Mitigating the Impact of HIV/AIDS: Nutrition and Farming Technology at the Southern Africa Global Competitiveness Hub in Gaborone on Monday.
He said the major challenge facing the continent remains hunger and malnutrition and that 30 percent of Africa’s population is malnourished. “The challenges of agricultural production and nutrition are at the core of the battle to eradicate hunger and poverty. A joint and collaborative approach is needed if the battle to reduce hunger in Africa is to be won,” he said.
Vodraska added that the annual turn-over of the world agricultural sector is $1.3 trillion. He said great opportunities exist for Africa’s small, rural and emerging farmers to become food secure and income surplus communities. He said that USAID is allocating resources over five years to support the on-going United States Presidential Initiative to end hunger in Africa. He said HIV/AIDS continues to erode the development gains made by all sectors like child survival rates and economic growth. Vodraska said that the dual focus on agriculture and HIV/AIDS is utilising the opportunities in both sectors to meet the challenge of saving lives through enhancing health and economic well-being.
In his presentation, Tebogo Seleka of Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA), said a mandatory cereal fortification as a policy instrument prevents and corrects micronutrient deficiencies. He said it reduces health costs from illnesses related to micronutrient deficiency.
He said voluntary fortification allows food manufacturers to decide on whether or not to add nutrients to foods and the type and quantity of nutrients to add. However, mandatory fortification is required by law.
Seleka said mandatory fortification might be difficult to comprehensively implement in sorghum milling.
He noted that in June 2005, malnutrition rates ranged from 1.1 to 15 percent in Botswana. Higher malnutrition rates were recorded in rural areas than in cities or towns.
Seleka said the nature of malnutrition is of protein-energy, micronutrient deficiency such as iron, Vitamin A and Iodine. He said there has been a rise in anaemia in adults particularly in women due to HIV/AIDS. While it is unknown as to how much progress has been made since 1994 on Vitamin A, it has been reported iodine deficiency disorder is generally low in Botswana.
Seleka stated that causes of malnutrition have been attributed to a decline in the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding, improper and unhygienic preparation of infant formula, prevalence of diseases such as acute respiratory infections, HIV/AIDS and TB. He said other factors are household goods insecurity and improper feeding practices.
