The Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) is an African Union Commission (AUC) led initiative through which countries are able to estimate the social and economic impact of child undernutrition in a given year. Twelve countries are initially participating in the study. Uganda is part of the four first -phase countries, the first to carry out the study and present results.
Uganda loses some UGS 1.8 trillion (US$899 million) annually – as much as 5.6 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product – due to the effects of malnutrition. This is the alarming finding of a new study entitled The Cost of Hunger in Africa, published in Uganda today.
The study was conducted by the Government of Uganda with the support of the African Union Commission including New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the UN World Food Programme (WFP). It underlines that undernutrition is not just a health issue, but an economic one as well.
Using data from 2009, the study measured the losses to the Ugandan economy caused by child undernutrition, particularly the effects of stunting or chronic malnutrition. Stunting, or being short for your age (low-height-forage), results when children miss out on critical nutrients including proteins, vitamins and minerals, while in the womb or in the first five years of life. People affected by stunting are more likely in later life to be sickly, to perform poorly at school or drop out of classes, to be less productive at work and to die early.
The study found that treating diarrhoea, anaemia, respiratory infections and other clinical conditions related to malnutrition cost Uganda UGS 526 billion (US$254 million). Losses in productivity reached UGS 417 billion (US$201 million) in manual sectors, such as agriculture, and UGS 241 (US$ 116 million) in non-manual activities, due to lower educational levels. In the educational sector, the study estimated that 7 per cent of all repetitions in school are associated with stunting. This represented 134,000 repetitions for an estimated cost of UGS 20 billion (US$9.5 million), for the government and the families.
The study also estimated that child mortality associated to under nutrition reduced Uganda’s labour force by 3.8 per cent. This represents over 943 million working hours lost due to an absent workforce brought about by early deaths. This cost Uganda nearly UGS657 billion (US$317 million). “These are extremely worrying findings,” says Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, whose office participated in the study. “They will guide the Government of Uganda towards adopting policies that prevent unnecessary losses of human and economic potential.”
You can read the full report here