Malnutrition of African Students
In this paper, I shall discuss the effects of malnutrition of children in Africa and the effect it has on their school performance. I will also examine what has been done to improve the problem of starvation and the long road ahead to solve this issue. I believe this problem is very serious and should not be over looked by other countries.
So many children wake up hungry and go to bed famished in Africa. Their days are hard to get through and the idea of going to school and having to concentrate is almost an impossible task. Many children have no energy and lose the ambition to get an education. An example I found while researching was of a young girl named Kede Fatuma, who is a starving child living in Ethiopia who once took pride in her education and her great ability as a runner. “These days, however, food is scarce in Dere Kiltu. Kede, 10, has neither the time nor the strength to keep up with her running. In fact, she no longer goes to school at all. Instead, she uses her limited energy to help her family collect water, an effort that involves a two-hour walk to the nearest stream (www.washingtonpost.com).” This is an example that is sadly true of many children living in Africa.
In recent studies, they have shown that those children who eat a healthy breakfast to start off their day are proven to have higher test scores, stay alert through out the school day, are able to concentrate, and are more likely to attend school. So as a result of having a balanced diet, children are able to retain more information and learn more in the end.
In the subjects of math and science which involve a lot of concentration, Africa was shown to have very low scores as compared to other countries that are not stricken
by hunger and poverty. In a study done on one school in Zimbabwe, they found that many of the students in the class were continuously falling asleep. The reason they
found for this was exhaustion caused by lack of food. The majority of the children only receive one meal a day. Other poorer children beg their neighbors for food and often receive only a small portion of cornmeal.
Hunger affects many parts of Africa and it is a growing problem that is the cause of many deaths each year.
Although the !Kung San of southern Africa differ greatly from the people in the west African nation of Mali, both areas share similar problems. Both suffer from diseases, illnesses, malnutrition, and having to adapt to the ever changing and advancing cultures around them. What I found to be the most significant problem that is shared between both areas is that the people suffered from a lack of education. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine A. Dettwyler, there is a lack of education in proper nutritional practices, taking care of children and newborns, and basic medical knowledge and practices. The Dobe Ju/’hoansi have recently started putting in schools to help children receive an education to help them have better success with the surrounding peoples and culture, but there is a lack of attendance in these schools. There are also many education issues in proper sexual practices that would help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS, in a place in the world were theses illnesses are at surprisingly high levels.
The French Revolution started during 1789, it allowed for the people to have a better government that actually protected the natural rights of the people. This toke a nearly a decade of rioting and violence for the Third Estate to have their way and get the rights they deserved. From all the causes like the famine of wheat, long debts because of wars, the heavy taxes, and their rights not being protected, some causes stood out more than the others. It is noted that these reasons had to play a major role in order for the French Revolution to occur. The three most important causes of the French revolution are the ideas that came from the Enlightenment, the Old Regime not being an efficient class system, and the heavy taxation.
Have you ever wondered what protects our right to an education free of sexual harassment and equal opportunity in school activities? Title IX does that.
Laws have been created to help with sexual assault victims for example, Title IX however laws like these are not good enough to keep students protected; schools need additional policies put in place to help keep their students safe. In 1972 Title IX was passed which was a law that “requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding” (History). The law has ten areas in which it protects students and their access to higher education, career education, education for pregnant and parenting students, employment, learning environment, math and science, sexual harassment, standardized testing and technology (History). When dealing with sexual harassment Title IX requires that schools immediately take action to eliminate sexual assault threats as soon as an incident is reported (studentaffaris). The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or for short Clery Act is another law that is put in place to protect sexually assaulted victims. ...
Brown, L. & Pollitt, E. “Malnutrition, poverty and intellectual development”. Scientific American vol 274(2), pp. 38-43.
Hunger is a result of poverty, as well as poverty being a result of hunger. Hunger causes the body’s radius to decrease in addition to a person’s level of energy and mental functions. An adult’s hunger struggle could seriously affect their labor abilities and could eventually lead to unemployment. Unemployment and low incomes are the all time leading causes of childhood hunger. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life?” (Child Hunger Fact Sheet).
In order to understand the causes of the French Revolution we must first understand the separations within the French society at the time. The population was divided into 3 states, the Clergy and the Nobility which were the first and second Estates, both of whom did not have to pay taxes and were given privileges such as high positions in the army and civil service. The Third Estate consisted of everyone else, the pheasants, farmers, landless labourers, serfs and the emerging middle class called the bourgeois. 80% of the population was rural and were very highly taxed by the king, like the rest of the ...
Illinois, Nsb Gurus, Thinkquest, North Sydney Boys High School, University of. "Economic Causes of Malnutrition." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. .
Mathematics has become a very large part of society today. From the moment children learn the basic principles of math to the day those children become working members of society, everyone has used mathematics at one point in their life. The crucial time for learning mathematics is during the childhood years when the concepts and principles of mathematics can be processed more easily. However, this time in life is also when the point in a person’s life where information has to be broken down to the very basics, as children don’t have an advanced capacity to understand as adults do. Mathematics, an essential subject, must be taught in such a way that children can understand and remember.
The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime. The people of France were divided into three estates. The first estate was composed of the highest church officials. They held about ten percent of all the land in France. They paid no direct taxes to the royal government. The second estate was made up of nobles. They were only two percent of France’s population, but owned twenty percent of the land. They paid no taxes (Krieger 483). The third estate accounted for ninety-eight percent of France’s population. The third estate was divided into three groups; the middle class, known as the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes, and the peasant farmers. The third estate lost about half their income in taxes. They paid feudal dues, royal taxes, and also owed the corvee, a form of tax paid with work (Krieger 484).
The third estate (made up ninety-eight percent of the population) was the people who wanted to be equal to the nobles and clergy. The clergy and nobles made up the First and Second Estate. They first two estates had overruling power in the government than the Third Estate. This was one of the reasons of the Storm of Bastille. They were knowledgeable of the ‘existing conditions.’ The social class was the main thing separating the people of France. There was a lack of social mobility also, causing people to be based on lineage, rather than wealth.
Each social group had a varied type of people within their structure, which presented the different views of the people. The First Estate was the Church. During the ancien regime, the church was equal in terms of its social, economic, and spiritual power. The First Estate owned nearly 10 per cent of all land in France.
“Malnourished children are 20% less literate than those with a healthier diet, says UK charity Save the Children” (The Information Daily). When parents become victims of poverty it can have some very unpleasing long and short term effects to their children. Parents in poverty have a lot on their plate and buying the best quality food or affording enough food can be a tumultuous task. Quality nutrition is essential for the development of the brain. At a young age, poor nutrition or not enough nutrition can seriously hinder “the brain 's development, a child’s ability to learn and has a devastating impact on a child’s future”(The Information Daily). “Malnutrition in the early developmental stages of the brain, by restricting the children’s cognitive growth, can lower a child 's IQ has much has 20 points”(The Information Daily). Long term effects of malnutrition leave permanent damage to the brain, however, malnutrition has short term effects as well. Malnourishment can greatly compromise a child’s immune system, making them more susceptible to infectious diseases. “Low counts of zinc, iron and vitamin A are commonly associated with weakened immune function” (Orphan Nutrition). A deadly infection can have a huge impact on a poverty stricken family leading to less affordability. Malnutrition negatively affects a student throughout their educational
The word hunger can mean the painful sensation caused by the want of food, the want or scarcity of food in a country or a strong desire or craving. In relation to the term World Hunger, the word refers to the want or scarcity of food in a country (World Hunger, 2011). In areas of the world, including the United States, where hunger is an issue, malnourishment becomes a very serious concern. Malnutrition is a very basic term referring to the general lack of some or all nutrients needed to support human health. There are two main types of malnutrition, Protein- energy malnutrition (PEM) and micronutrient deficiency (World Hunger, 2011). While both types of malnutrition are dangerous, PEM is the most important and most notable form of the disease and is eminently fatal. In the early developmental years of a child’s life, specifically from zero to five years of age, malnutrition is of the greatest concern. Failing to properly feed a child’s body can cause irreversible damage to the mind leading to developmental delays, stunted physical cognitive and emotional growth, mental retardation, livelong illness and even death. In many countries across the globe, lack of funds and resources contribute greatly the malnourished child issues. However, in established countries such as the United States, where extensive programs such as Women Infants and Children are established to eradicate these issues, they still exist. This is due in large part to a lack of education. Many young mothers are unaware of the nutritional needs of their young children. Unfortunately, many cases are also a result of abuse and neglect. Regardless of the motive or situation leading up to the circumstances which provided for a malnourished child, education is the answe...
“Every hour of every day, 300 children die of malnutrition.” (more children going hunry) Even though there are many, many programs out there, still children are suffering immensely because of mallnutrition.“The report says 15 million more children are suffering from chronic malnutrition in Africa compared to 1990.” (African news service). That 's just in Africa imagine the numbers of children suffering around the world. “Malnutrition is attributed to a third of all child deaths worldwide, or 2.6 million per year.” (African news service). 2.6 million deaths per year and that 's just from mallnutrition.“Half of the world 's malnourished children live in five countries - Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, India and Bangladesh - where 50 per cent of all families have been forced to cut back on food.”(African news service).For you to grasp the whole impact of malnutrition you need the facts.”with over one billion children living in poverty, 400 million lacking clean drinking water, and 165 million under the age of 5 experiencing stunted growth because of malnutrition.” (Justin Turner) Along with malnutrition there is the fact of the effects on the child 's mental status. “Due to lack in resources, poor social and health related behaviors are common.”(children in poverty) these kids that go through this tend to have health concerns