Hunger upon hunger - its too much

Sometimes, I must admit to feeling a degree of hopelessness when I think about climate change and its growing effects on poor and vulnerable people in East Africa. Sustainable development sometimes feels like a pipe dream.

East Africa is having a hard time right now. Just a few years ago, with the countries in the Great Lake Regions (ie,Rwanda and Burundi) coming to greater peace and stability, Kenya's economy rising and its politics becoming more democratic, Uganda doing relatively well, and the Horn of Africa (somalia/Sudan) relatively quiet (for that region). And then Kenya's elections of 2008 turned violent, the combined fuel and food crisis hit the region very hard in 2008, and in 2009 the worst drought for ten years - and in 2010, terrible floods have swept the region. the Horn is less stable (again) and deep in famine (again).

And now Uganda is facing an epidemic of sleeping sickness, caused, scientists are beginning to think, by the livestock trade.

Plus climate -agriculture researchers are raising awareness that there is a 'hidden hunger' with climate change - not only will there be less food, but the nutritional value of food is likely to decrease. Why? Because greater C02 in the atmosphere changes the nutritional value of the crops. In general, it produces more starch and less 'good' nutrition such as protein. So not only will there be less food but it will be less nutritious - and that is bad not only for kids, but for populations who have HIV (good nutrition is really essential), who are facing significant physical challenges (such as migrating because you can no longer live in the areas where you used to live), and for mothers. Malnutrition contributes to at least half the 10.8 children deaths per year.

The suggested responses for sustainable development in response to a decrease in nutritional value of crops include: increased nitrogen in fertilizer (which will help counter-balance some of the effects of C02 in atmosphere) - but that is expensive and often impractical in many parts of sub-saharan africa; consuming more food - but this is impractical due to ongoing poverty issues; distributing food supplements (such as nutritional vitamins) - probably a good idea but possibly very expensive as a long term strategy (as this problem isn't going anywheres) and 'biofortification' - increasing strength and stability of plants through biotechnology. I tend to be sceptical of this solution.

Sometimes, I think it is too much. The people there are proud, beautiful people. I do not see very many pathways of sustainable development at the moment.