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{{ WAP assignment | course=Wikipedia:USEP/Courses/Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities (Kimberly Hoang and Diana Strassmann) | university = Rice University | term = 2012 Q4 | project = }}
=Street children in Latin America=
==Definition and general characteristics==
Street children in Latin America generally fall into two categories: home-based and street-based. Children “on the streets” are home-based; they work on the street during the day but have homes and families that they return to at night. Children “of the street” are street-based; they spend all of their time on the streets and do not have homes or contact with their families. <ref name=Ennew1989>Ennew, J 1989</ref> In Latin America, street children are commonplace, everyday presences. They are street vendors, street workers, and street entertainers, as well as beggars and thieves. <ref name=oritz>Oritz de Carrizosa, S. and Poertner, J 1992</ref> Although street children may occasionally prostitute themselves, [[child prostitutes]] and victims of human trafficking are not generally considered street children. There is no clear consensus on how many street children exist in Latin America, mainly because of the difficulties in identifying and defining street children. Some studies claim that as many as 45% of children in Latin America are street children, 75-90% of whom are home-based.<ref name=Aptekar1994>Aptekar, L 1994</ref> Number estimates of street children in Latin America range from 8 million to 40-50 million.<ref name=Tacon>Tacon, P 1982</ref>


<!--Per MOS:BOLDTITLE and WP:SBE, please do not reword this to include the article's title.-->In 2002, there was a famine in Malawi with death estimates ranging from 300 to 3,000<ref name=devereux19>Devereux, S 2002</ref> Rising levels of poverty, food shortages, and political and economic issues all contributed to the resulting famine. The harvest in the latter half of 2002 alleviated the worst of the famine, but Malawi has since entered a food crisis that has persisted to this day.<ref name=phillips>Phillips, E 2007</ref>
Street children in Latin America are usually indigenous males between the ages of 10-14.<ref name=rizzini1996>Rizzini, I 1996</ref> Because girls are usually needed to assist in household chores, they are less likely to work on the streets. Most street children grow up without significant familial support and little to no education.<ref name=rizzini1996 />


85 percent of Malawians’ primary source of income comes from agriculture, and maize is the primary crop grown and consumed.<ref name=lilliston>Lilliston, B and Ranallo, A 2012</ref> Unusual rainfall and flooding in 2001 sparked a food crisis in 2001 that worsened until 2006.<ref name=16>Devereux 2002</ref> The 2000/2001 maize harvest fell from 2.5 million to 1.7 million metric tons, creating a national deficit of 273,000 metric tons. In February 2002, the Malawi government announced that there was a food emergency and that the country was in a State of Disaster.<ref name=12>IMF 2002</ref> President [[Bingu wa Mutharika]] declared a [[state of emergency|national disaster]] on October 15, 2005<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4345246.stm|title= Malawi issues food crisis appeal|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=2005-10-15|accessdate=2007-12-13}}</ref> and the [[United Nations Children's Fund]] (UNICEF) estimated that there are 46,000 severely [[malnutrition|malnourished]] children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unicef.org/media/media_28776.html|title=High stakes for Malawi's children as malnutrition rises|publisher=[[UNICEF]]|date=2005-10-14|accessdate=2007-12-13}}</ref>
Almost all street children work. Some are self-employed: they offer services such as car cleaning, car guarding, tour guiding, and shoe shining. Some are employed by market traders to sell goods such as fruit, candy, and newspapers.<ref name=oritz /> Others scavenge for items and food to sell, use, or eat.<ref name=scanlon>Scanlon, T 1998</ref> Most female street children and some male home-based street children work on the streets with their parents or siblings, selling food and candy. Street-based street children are more likely to engage in illegal activities such as shoplifting, stealing, and selling drugs.<ref name=lusk>Lusk M, Peralta F and Vest G 1989</ref> Home-based street children may attend school during the day and work on the streets in the afternoon and evenings, or they may not attend school and spend most of their day on the streets and helping with household tasks. Street-based children are less likely to attend school than home-based.<ref name=lusk />


==Risk Factors and Vulnerabilities==
== Background and factors involved ==
The primary cause of street children is poverty. Almost all Latin American street children work on the streets, either to support themselves or to support their families. While street children in the United States are often from neglectful or abusive families, street children in Latin America are often from impoverished families that cannot afford to support them. They are not runaways or discontent with their lives. Instead, they are forced on the street due to economic necessities.<ref name=rizzini1995>Rizzini I and Lusk M, 1995</ref>


Scholars trace back Malawi’s food crisis to 1991 and 1992, when a drought in southern Africa severely reduced Malawi’s maize production. The price of maize shot up: the cost of maize, which is 54% of the average caloric intake for Malawians<ref name=1>Minot 2010</ref>, almost doubled between 1992 and 1993.<ref name=2>United Nations 1994</ref> Although there was a maize surplus in 1993 due to improved rainfall and government-subsidized hybrid maize seed and fertilizer, food consumption did not increase.<ref name=3>Hayes 1997</ref>
Home-based street children can emerge when families in desperate economic situations send their children to seek work on the streets. Children may first accompany their parents or older siblings on their street jobs, and then transition to their own jobs. As children spend increasing amounts of time on the streets, engaging in street work and activities, they become more independent and see their families less and less. Eventually they may become completely estranged from their families, thus becoming street-based street children. Other times, the switch to a street-based street child is more abrupt: some children are cast onto the streets, losing complete contact with their families, due to family issues such as the death of a parent.<ref name=rizzini1995 /> As street-based street children, these youth must provide for their own basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, and shelter. <ref name=oritz />Many of these street children are also [[migrants]]. With or without their families, they travel from rural areas to urban cities in search of work. Some children leave their homes with the intention of reaching America. Yet when they arrive in the cities, they discover that their opportunities are limited to street work. <ref>Collymore, Yvette 2002</ref> In recent years, natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch and the earthquake in Haiti have dramatically increased the population of families in poverty and therefore the number of migrant families and children.<ref>Velasquez, Manuel 2011</ref>


Since then, periodic droughts and floods continued to affect Malawi.<ref name=5>ActionAid 2006</ref> Between 1990 and 2006, there were 33 weather-related disasters, a rise from the 7 that occurred between 1970 and 1989.<ref name=5 /> Malawi’s economy is heavily agricultural; most people survive on their own harvest and sell the excess to make a small income.<ref name=6>Dorward and Kydd 2004</ref> The high number and increasing severity of droughts and floods since 1990 has impacted much of the country’s population—farmers had little ability to adapt to or recover from disasters, making them more vulnerable to future events, and the cycle of poverty and hunger worsened.<ref name=5 />
Besides low economic status, studies have shown that larger populations of street children emerge when there is insufficient housing, inadequate government support and assistance for those in poverty, a high birth rate, and a high incidence of rural-to-urban migration. <ref>Barker G and Knaul F, 1991</ref> This is especially prevalent in Honduras, where poverty drives poor families to seek work in cities. Once in cities, these same families feel pressured to have more children to increase their labor assets because of the large working street child population. Some visitors have reported that Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, is overflowing with street children.<ref name=wright>Wright, Jame D 1993</ref> Likewise, in Brazil, urban street children are generally males originally from rural, economically disadvantaged families that work in agriculture. <ref>Gustafsson-Wright E and Pyne H, 2002</ref> However, although an overarching reason for many street children in Latin America is poverty, different regions have different vulnerability factors as well. In La Paz, Bolivia, one study that surveyed 124 children "of the street" reported five primary reasons for leaving home: 40% said physical abuse, 18% said death of a parent, 16% said being abandoned, 13% said mental abuse, and 7% said poverty. <ref>Huang CC, et. al., 2004</ref> Studies in Mexico also show that parental neglect, physical abuse, and abandonment increase children's vulnerabilities. Living in Mexican urban slums, called colonias marginales, also places these children at risk for becoming street children because they often lack economic stability, educational opportunities, public services, social infrastructure. <ref>Ferguson, 2002</ref>


From the early 1970s to 1994, the government subsidized hybrid maize growth. When the government stopped this program because it was becoming too expensive support, maize production fell and price increased.<ref name=5 />
Once children shift into children of the street or children on the street, their vulnerabilities increase. They have decreased access to housing, education, parental or adult support and protection. In Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, where child welfare programs are severely lacking, children of the streets reportedly have no aspirations because their opportunities to reenter their communities as contributing members of societies are nonexistent.<ref name=lusk /> Street children in Latin America are more likely to have health-related issues due to drug and alcohol usage, living in polluted environments, fighting with other street children and police, and unprotected sexual intercourse.<ref name=lusk /> Most street children spend their time in overcrowded, unsanitary areas which increases their risk of infection and disease.<ref name=wright /> Many are exposed to hazardous working conditions that increase their likelihood of being attacked, mugged, and sexually harassed. In Honduras, one study revealed that 59% of street on the street children eat three meals a day, 33% eat two meals, 8% eat one meal. For children of the street, 6% eat three meals a day. The same study determined that the leading causes of death among street children are health-related; respiratory infections, skin ailments, physical trauma, and dental issues are among the most common health concerns that result in death when untreated for street children. Although these conditions and diseases are treatable, many street children do not have access to medical care.<ref name=wright />
== Government response ==


In October 2005 Malawi President [[Bingu wa Mutharika]] called all of the nation a "disaster area" and said the government would spend $50 million to import 330,000 tons of corn from [[South Africa]], but that the country still needs an additional 158,000 tons to sustain the country until next harvest season.<ref>Associated Press [http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/17/news_pf/Worldandnation/With_food_crisis_wors.shtml With food crisis worsening, Malawi pleads for aid] (October 17, 2005) [[St. Petersburg Times]]. Last accessed on 2006-12-31.</ref>
==Issues surrounding street children==
===Groups===
Many street-based children form peer support groups (called turmas in Brazil) for physical protection from outside assaults and emotional support. Groups are usually made up of street-based children; home-based children without parental supervision on the streets may have friends that protect them, but they are usually not part of a specific peer support group. Although they are not technically “gangs” with hierarchies and leaders, these groups often have strict rules, punishments, and initiation ceremonies.<ref name=campos>Campos R, et al. 1994</ref> Consequently, peer groups often influence members to engage in illegal drug usage, drug dealing, and theft.<ref name=lalor>Lalor, K 1999</ref>


==Relief efforts and effects==
Peer groups provide street children with a sense of identity. Although groups usually form firstly for physical protection, their secondary function of providing camaraderie and love is often just as significant for the mental health and stability of street children.<ref>Lalor, K 1999</ref> These peer groups are also outlets for sexual behavior; sexual relationships with friends within peer groups reinforces bonds between group members, but sex and rape can also be used as a punishment for rule breakers.<ref name=raffaelli>Raffaelli, M 1999</ref> Most of these sexual acts are unprotected, increasing the risk and spread of STDs such as HIV among street children.<ref>Inciardi, J 1998</ref>
In 2002 [[United Nations Children's Fund]] stated the foreign community was ignoring the crisis. Thereza Banda, Malawi co-ordinator for nutrition, stated that 6,000 children were on the verge of death while 65,000 were malnourished.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/africa/2204232.stm World 'ignoring' African food crisis](20 August 2002) [[BBC News]]. Retrieved on 2006-01-04.</ref> School attendance also dropped with 500,000 children absent. During the peak of the food crisis in 2002, the government reports 500 people died from starvation.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/business/2176325.stm Malawi officials blamed for food crisis] (6 August 2002)[[BBC News]]. Retrieved on 2006-01-04.</ref>


The [[World Food Program]] warned that the number of most vulnerable people was more than five million, and the [[United Nations]] is called for a major increase in aid to the region. In August the [[United Nations]] appealed for US $88 million of donations to Malawi, with only $28 million pledged.
===Drugs===
Common drugs used by street children are everyday [[inhalants]] (paint, glue), [[marijuana]], [[cough syrup]], [[amphetamines]], [[cocaine]], and hallucinogenic teas.<ref name=campos /> In Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru, [[coca paste]], a precursor to cocaine from coca leaves, is a popular drug for sale and usage among street children. Studies have shown, however, that coca paste is more detrimental than cocaine; it contains toxic processing chemicals such as kerosine, sulfuric acid, and methanol that are purified out in cocaine.<ref name=deoliveira>De Oliveira W, Balzerman M, Pellet L 1992</ref> Glue is another frequently used and dangerous drug. In Honduras and Guatemala, children sniff Resistol, a toulene-based glue. Although toulene produces a desirable high, it is also a neurotoxin. Prolonged exposure leads to irreversible nerve damage, muscle deterioration, loss of brain function, dysfunctional kidneys and livers, and diminished ability to see and hear. Despite public outcry and pressure to change, the company that produces Resistol, H. B. Fuller, has generally denied its role in enabling the destructive behaviors of street children. They have replaced toulene with [[cyclohexene]], another neurotoxin that produces the same high and has the same side effects.<ref name=Tacon />


International aid is also needed to help build [[irrigation]] systems. Currently only 2% of cultivated land is irrigated,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2005/s1477224.htm|title=Malawi faces food crisis|publisher=ABC Radio National|year=2005|accessdate=2008-02-21}}</ref> and the government is trying to increase irrigation to reduce reliance on rainfall.
More street-based children engage in drug usage than home-based, and many street-based children are dependent on drugs. Street children take drugs for a variety of reasons: to allay hunger, to deal with loneliness, fear, and despair, to cope with the cold, and to deal with the reality of difficult deeds such as prostitution and theft.<ref name=campos /> Although many sociologists report mentally stable street children, others suggest that drugs may affect street children’s cognitive functions and perceptions. Drugs may also increase violent and sexual inclinations in street children.<ref name=Aptekar1994 />


==Cultural references==
===Victimization and arrest===
There is a personal account of the famine by [[William Kamkwamba]] in his book ''The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind''. The government estimate of famine deaths appears to be severely understated.
Many street-based children have been in [[juvenile court]] or prison due to theft or vagrancy.<ref name=campos /> Some street children report the police--not hunger or loneliness--as their greatest fear. In Brazil, between 1988 and 1990, a recorded 4,611 street children were murdered by police.<ref name=lalor /> High numbers of street children murders by police have also been reported in Guatemala and Colombia.<ref name=lalor /> Hostility and violence towards street children may originate from their indigenous background, indicated by their darker skin, or from their insubordination to authority figures.<ref name=Aptekar1994 /> Street children are commonly viewed as threats to society, as thieves and criminals. In recent years, vigilante “[[death squads]]” have formed to rid society of street children by murdering them. In Brazil, death squads can earn $50 per child killed. Under child labor laws, even legal work is illegal, and street children are thus often legal targets for police harassment and incarceration, even if they are not selling drugs, stealing, or engaging in other illegal activities.<ref name=rizzini1995 /> Children have worked on the streets of Latin America for centuries, yet it is only recently that the prevailing public perception of them has been negative. People group street children with criminals and school drop-outs, as mentally unstable and emotionally underdeveloped individuals incapable of contributing to society.<ref>Ennew, J 1994</ref>


== See also ==
Street children also fear each other: street children frequently attack each other with knives and fists to protect their jobs or property. Older street children often rob younger ones of their valuables. Younger girls are the most often victimized by both older boys and adults by physical assault and sexual harassment.<ref name=lalor />
*[[2005-06 Niger food crisis]]
*[[2006 Horn of Africa food crisis]]
*[[1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia]]
*[[2010 Sahel drought]]
*[[Sahel drought]]


⚫
==Notes==
===Mental state/health===
{{Reflist}}
The mental state and health of street children is a controversial topic. Some studies claim that the constant malnutrition, drug usage, sexual activity, abuse and harassment that street children suffer from and engage in results in decreased mental and emotional health. They have found that street children often have low self-esteem and are prone to anxiety and depression.<ref name=raffaelli /> Other studies suggest that street children are more mentally stable than the public perceives and media portrays them to be. A study conducted in Bogotá showed that street children were independent, creative, and well-supported by their peers.<ref name=wright /> In Brazil, surveyed street children said they were optimistic about the futures: they wanted to leave the streets and aspired to pursue careers such as manufacturers, artists, teachers, and drivers. Very few said they did not want to work.<ref name=deoliveira /> However, many studies on the mental state of street children are inconclusive because of the unknown effects of drugs, and the varied experiences and situations of street children.<ref name=wright />


== External links ==
==Difficulties in studying street children==
{{wikinewshas|stories related to this article|
Many sociologists complain of the difficulties in obtaining accurate information about street children. Some children are afraid to discuss their situations, and those that are willing to are often unreliable sources of information--they are prone to lying about their age, activities, family backgrounds. The lack of records and public information about street children makes it difficult to verify information.<ref name=Aptekar1994 />
*[[n:Malawi appeals for further humanitarian aid|Malawi appeals for further humanitarian aid]]

*[[n:Malawi food appeal unanswered by world community|Malawi food appeal unanswered by world community]]}}

* [http://unicef.org/infobycountry/malawi_28307.html UNICEF:Food crisis in Malawi compounded by HIV/AIDS]
==Solutions, policies, and programs for street children==
In the past, there have been efforts to institutionalize street children, to “re-educate” and “correct” street children. In Brazil, over half a million street children were institutionalized in 1985. However, this approach proved to be ineffective and expensive: it treated all street children like criminals, when a majority were not, and focused on “correctional education” instead of providing the necessary support and care that street children needed and lacked while on the streets.<ref name=oritz />

Other organizations such as local churches and volunteer organizations have approached the problem through rehabilitation. This approach takes the near opposite of institutionalization: it cares for children, providing them with shelter, food, education, clothing, medical care, and a safe environment. It successfully provides for children and helps them survive, but often does not effectively motivate children to seek legitimate employment or get off the streets. Like institutionalization, rehabilitation is expensive. Furthermore, most rehabilitation programs are long-term commitments that street children are unwilling to make.<ref name=oritz />

Based on these past attempts to recover street children, most organizations now take the outreach approach. Instead of focusing on providing for street children and society’s perceptions of street children, the outreach approach views street children as results of poverty and works to empower them by teaching them problem-solving skills and treating their issues on a community-by-community basis. Many outreached-based programs send street teachers to educate children on their home turf (parks, sidewalks, parking lots) about applicable issues. By helping street children in their everyday difficulties, these organizations help children provide for themselves.<ref name=wright /> For example, street educators throughout Latin America have helped street children form working relationships with market traders--instead of tossing and further damaging unwanted fruit, market traders give slightly damaged and overripe fruit to street children to eat or sell. In Asunción, Paraguay, outreach workers identified that many street children were suffocating when they built fires in cisterns and then trapped themselves in the space. Outreach organizations educated street children on how to safely handle and build fires, and also were advocates for street children who died trying to survive. Some criticize outreach programs because they, like rehabilitation programs, do not fix the issue of street children. Proponents of outreach programs claim that their practices are built on the ideology that street children are unfortunate effects of societal deficiencies, and therefore the only way to effectively assist street children is through empowerment and applicable assistance.<ref name=oritz />

To complement the outreach approach, other organizations such as [[UNICEF]] take a preventative approach to the issue: they provide programs to empower and employ poor families, to try to raise them out of poverty so that children are not driven to the streets, and also work with policy makers to address the underlying issues such as unemployment, rural-to-urban migration, and insufficient housing. In Paraguay, efforts have been made to increase school hours and education to keep children off the streets. Other efforts include more vocational training for parents, welfare programs for families in poverty, and increased affordable day care for children. However, like other approaches, preventative efforts are expensive. Most Latin American governments are in too much debt to have effective welfare or educational programs. <ref name=oritz /><ref name=rizzini1996 />

⚫
==Notes==
{{reflist}}


==References==
==References==
*Devereux, Stephen. “The Malawi Famine of 2002.” IDS Bulletin 33 (2002): 70-78.
* Scanlon TJ, Tomkins A, Lynch MA, Scanlon F (1998). "Street children in Latin America," ''BMJ'', 316(1596–1600).
*Phillips, Erica. “The 2002 Malawi Famine.” In Food Policy for Developing Countries: Case Studies, ed. Per Pinstrup-Andersen and Fuzhi Cheng.
*Oritz de Carrizosa, S. and Poertner, J (1992). "Latin American street children: problem, programmes and critique," ''International Social Work'', 35(405).
*Lilliston, Ben and Ranallo, Andrew. “Grain Reserves and the Food Price Crisis: Selected Writings from 2008-2012.” June 2012. Institution for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
*Ennew, J (1986). "Children of the streets," ''New Internationalist'', 164(10-11).
*Devereux, Stephen. “State of Disaster: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Lessons from Malawi.” June 2002. ActionAid. Lilongwe, Malawi: ActionAid.
*Rizzini, I (1996). "Street children: An excluded generation in Latin America," ''Childhood: A Global Journal of Child Research'', 3(215-233).
*“Malawi—The Food Crises, the Strategic Grain Reserve, and the IMF.” July 2002. International Monetary Fund. Washington, DC: IMF.
*Rizzini I and Lusk M (1995). "Children in the Streets: Latin America’s Lost Generation," ''Children and Youth Services Review'', 17(391-400).
*Minot, Nicholas. “Staple food prices in Malawi.” January 2010. Prepared for the Comesa policy seminar on “Variation in staple food prices: Causes, consequence, and policy options.” Maputo, Mozambique:African Agricultural Marketing Project (AAMP). http://fsg.afre.msu.edu/aamp/seminar_3/AAMP_Maputo_22_Malawi_ppr.pdf
*Aptekar, L (1994). "Street Children in the Developing World: A Review of Their Condition," ''Cross-Cultural Research'', 28(195-224)
*“Update on the Nutrition Situation, 1994: Chapter 2, Recent Nutrition Trends in 14 Countries, Malawi.” November 1994. Prepared in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute. Washington, D.C.: United Nations. http://www.unsystem.org/scn/archives/rwns94update/ch14.htm
*Tacon, P (1982). "Carlinhos: The hard gloss of city polish," ''UNICEF News'', 111(4-6).
*Hayes, L.M., Minae, S., Bunderson, W.T., Bodnar, F. & Ngugi, D. "The potential of improved fallows on small holder maize productivity on food security in Malawi." 1997. Paper presented at the International Symposium on The Science and Practice of Short-term Fallows. Lilongwe, Malawi.
*Lusk M, Peralta F and Vest G (1989). "Street children of Juarez: A Field Study," ''International Social Work'', 32(289)
*“Climate change and smallholder farmers in Malawi.” ActionAid. October 2006. https://www.actionaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/doc_lib/malawi_climate_change_report.pdf
*Campos R, et al. (1994). "Social Networks and Daily Activities of Street Youth in Belo Horizonte, Brazil," ''Child Development'', 65(319-330).
*Dorward, Andrew and Kydd, Jonathan. “The Malawi 2002 food crisis: the rural development challenge.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 42 (2004): 343-361.
*Lalor, K (1999). "Street children: a comparative perspective," ''Child abuse and neglect'', 23(759-770).
[[Category:History of Malawi]]
*Raffaelli, M (1999). "Homeless and Working Street Youth in Latin America: A Developmental Review," ''Interamerican Journal of Psychology'', 33(7-28).
[[Category:Famines in Africa]]
*De Oliveira W, Balzerman M, Pellet L (1992). "Street children in Brazil and their helpers: comparative views on aspirations and the future," ''International Social Work'', 35(163–176).
[[Category:2005 in Malawi|food crisis]]
*Ennew, J (1994). “Parentless Friends: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Networks Among Street Children and Street Youth,” ''Social Networks and Social Support in Child- hood and Adolescence'', 24(409–410).
[[Category:Droughts in Africa]]
*Wright, James D (1993). "Street children in North and Latin America: Preliminary data from proyectos alternativos in Tegucigalpa and some comparisons with the U.S. case," ''Studies in Comparative International Development'', 28(81-92).
[[Category:Disasters in Malawi]]
*Tyler F., Tyler S., Echeverry J. and Zea. M (1991). "Making it on the streets of Bogota: A psychosocial study of street youth," ''Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs'', 119(395-417).
[[Category:Food security]]
*Collymore, Yvette (2002). "Migrant street children on the rise in Central America," ''Population Reference Bureau''
*Velasquez, Manuel (2011). "H. B. Fuller and the Street Children of Central America," ''Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases"
*Ferguson, Kristin (2002). "Intra-Regional Assessment of the Structural Influences of the Street-Children Phenomenon in Latin America: The Case of Brazil and Mexico," ''Social Development Issues'', 24(23-32).
*Huang CC, Barreda P, Mendoza V, Guzman L, and Gilbert P (2004). "A comparative analysis of abandoned street children and formerly abandoned street children in La Paz, Bolivia," ''Arch Dis Child'', 89(821-826).
*Gustafsson-Wright E and Pyne H (2002). "Gender Dimensions of Child Labor and Street Children in Brazil," ''World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 2897''

Revision as of 04:30, 16 March 2014

In 2002, there was a famine in Malawi with death estimates ranging from 300 to 3,000[1] Rising levels of poverty, food shortages, and political and economic issues all contributed to the resulting famine. The harvest in the latter half of 2002 alleviated the worst of the famine, but Malawi has since entered a food crisis that has persisted to this day.[2]

85 percent of Malawians’ primary source of income comes from agriculture, and maize is the primary crop grown and consumed.[3] Unusual rainfall and flooding in 2001 sparked a food crisis in 2001 that worsened until 2006.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). The 2000/2001 maize harvest fell from 2.5 million to 1.7 million metric tons, creating a national deficit of 273,000 metric tons. In February 2002, the Malawi government announced that there was a food emergency and that the country was in a State of Disaster.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). President Bingu wa Mutharika declared a national disaster on October 15, 2005[4] and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that there are 46,000 severely malnourished children.[5]

Background and factors involved

Scholars trace back Malawi’s food crisis to 1991 and 1992, when a drought in southern Africa severely reduced Malawi’s maize production. The price of maize shot up: the cost of maize, which is 54% of the average caloric intake for MalawiansCite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page)., almost doubled between 1992 and 1993.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). Although there was a maize surplus in 1993 due to improved rainfall and government-subsidized hybrid maize seed and fertilizer, food consumption did not increase.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

Since then, periodic droughts and floods continued to affect Malawi.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). Between 1990 and 2006, there were 33 weather-related disasters, a rise from the 7 that occurred between 1970 and 1989.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). Malawi’s economy is heavily agricultural; most people survive on their own harvest and sell the excess to make a small income.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). The high number and increasing severity of droughts and floods since 1990 has impacted much of the country’s population—farmers had little ability to adapt to or recover from disasters, making them more vulnerable to future events, and the cycle of poverty and hunger worsened.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

From the early 1970s to 1994, the government subsidized hybrid maize growth. When the government stopped this program because it was becoming too expensive support, maize production fell and price increased.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

Government response

In October 2005 Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika called all of the nation a "disaster area" and said the government would spend $50 million to import 330,000 tons of corn from South Africa, but that the country still needs an additional 158,000 tons to sustain the country until next harvest season.[6]

Relief efforts and effects

In 2002 United Nations Children's Fund stated the foreign community was ignoring the crisis. Thereza Banda, Malawi co-ordinator for nutrition, stated that 6,000 children were on the verge of death while 65,000 were malnourished.[7] School attendance also dropped with 500,000 children absent. During the peak of the food crisis in 2002, the government reports 500 people died from starvation.[8]

The World Food Program warned that the number of most vulnerable people was more than five million, and the United Nations is called for a major increase in aid to the region. In August the United Nations appealed for US $88 million of donations to Malawi, with only $28 million pledged.

International aid is also needed to help build irrigation systems. Currently only 2% of cultivated land is irrigated,[9] and the government is trying to increase irrigation to reduce reliance on rainfall.

Cultural references

There is a personal account of the famine by William Kamkwamba in his book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The government estimate of famine deaths appears to be severely understated.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Devereux, S 2002
  2. ^ Phillips, E 2007
  3. ^ Lilliston, B and Ranallo, A 2012
  4. ^ "Malawi issues food crisis appeal". BBC. 2005-10-15. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  5. ^ "High stakes for Malawi's children as malnutrition rises". UNICEF. 2005-10-14. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  6. ^ Associated Press With food crisis worsening, Malawi pleads for aid (October 17, 2005) St. Petersburg Times. Last accessed on 2006-12-31.
  7. ^ World 'ignoring' African food crisis(20 August 2002) BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-01-04.
  8. ^ Malawi officials blamed for food crisis (6 August 2002)BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-01-04.
  9. ^ "Malawi faces food crisis". ABC Radio National. 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-21.

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References

  • Devereux, Stephen. “The Malawi Famine of 2002.” IDS Bulletin 33 (2002): 70-78.
  • Phillips, Erica. “The 2002 Malawi Famine.” In Food Policy for Developing Countries: Case Studies, ed. Per Pinstrup-Andersen and Fuzhi Cheng.
  • Lilliston, Ben and Ranallo, Andrew. “Grain Reserves and the Food Price Crisis: Selected Writings from 2008-2012.” June 2012. Institution for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
  • Devereux, Stephen. “State of Disaster: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Lessons from Malawi.” June 2002. ActionAid. Lilongwe, Malawi: ActionAid.
  • “Malawi—The Food Crises, the Strategic Grain Reserve, and the IMF.” July 2002. International Monetary Fund. Washington, DC: IMF.
  • Minot, Nicholas. “Staple food prices in Malawi.” January 2010. Prepared for the Comesa policy seminar on “Variation in staple food prices: Causes, consequence, and policy options.” Maputo, Mozambique:African Agricultural Marketing Project (AAMP). http://fsg.afre.msu.edu/aamp/seminar_3/AAMP_Maputo_22_Malawi_ppr.pdf
  • “Update on the Nutrition Situation, 1994: Chapter 2, Recent Nutrition Trends in 14 Countries, Malawi.” November 1994. Prepared in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute. Washington, D.C.: United Nations. http://www.unsystem.org/scn/archives/rwns94update/ch14.htm
  • Hayes, L.M., Minae, S., Bunderson, W.T., Bodnar, F. & Ngugi, D. "The potential of improved fallows on small holder maize productivity on food security in Malawi." 1997. Paper presented at the International Symposium on The Science and Practice of Short-term Fallows. Lilongwe, Malawi.
  • “Climate change and smallholder farmers in Malawi.” ActionAid. October 2006. https://www.actionaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/doc_lib/malawi_climate_change_report.pdf
  • Dorward, Andrew and Kydd, Jonathan. “The Malawi 2002 food crisis: the rural development challenge.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 42 (2004): 343-361.
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