Kenya Starving

The hunger situation in Kenya has been rated as alarming.

The Global Hunger Index report -2009 released Tuesday further indicates that starvation has been on an increasing trend over the last 20 years.

According to the report, gender inequality is the major contributing factor to rising hunger levels in sub Saharan Africa.

Klaus Von Grebmer who is the lead author of the report and communications Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says low-income countries are the most affected by the food and financial crises which has reduced their purchasing power and income earning opportunities for poor people.

Speaking in the same function Suresh Babu, an analyst with Food Security and nutrition Policy Analysis, cited political instability and lack of educational empowerment as the other reasons for higher hunger index in the sub-Saharan Africa.

The report highlights the hunger situation in over 80 countries worldwide.

The data used to compile the report dates a few years back and does not put into consideration some major factors like the global recession, meaning the situation could even be worse than has been projected.

The hunger index report singles out gender inequality as a major contributing factor to starvation.

An example establishes that women in rural areas spend 25% or 12 years of their lives fetching water.

Chad ranked among the top five countries whose hunger levels are below normal, has a shockingly low female literacy of 13%.

According to the report, women education, better healthcare, inclusion in the economy and political opportunities, are key to eliminating hunger.

The democratic republic of Congo, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Chad and Ethiopia are scored the worst, with their situation rated as extremely alarming.