A Nutrition Crisis
Production Update from Salonga-Lukenie-Sankuru Project by Augustine Kasambule
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the province of Bandundu is among the most heavily forested regions. It is rich in the biodiversity necessary for the survival of the communities within the area. While we were speaking with the people of the Lokolama sector about the management of their resources, I was profoundly touched by the comments of one woman, “When the men return with the game they’ve hunted, they sell every good piece they can, leaving only heads and the viscera for the women and children. When the children are hungry they’re only given manioc with some salt.” This explains why there’s such a problem with malnourished infants. It’s a story that was confirmed by all the women we interviewed.
The role that children have played at the heart of the African family has been replaced by money! This alarming situation pushed us to learn more about the food resources that are available in the region. We discovered that the villages on the edge of the forest trade in such items as mushrooms, caterpillars, ferns and fruits. And they raise manioc, beans, bananas, plantains, peanuts, corn, palm oil and a whole range of fruits. They also raise poultry and other small livestock and the rivers are well-stocked with fish.
It’s astonishing that with such a wealth of food resources, the women are incapable of providing varied, balanced meals to their kids. We cannot ignore the importance of a good diet to the intellectual development of growing children. Malnourished when very young, those children who represent our future will remain affected all their lives.
In Africa in general and the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular, women feed their families and it’s clear from our travels that the women of Lokolama must fill the gap and take charge of their families’ nutrition. We must assure that they have access to all the information they need because, as we say, “to educate a woman is to educate a nation.” And for the men who do the hunting and are considered the heads of their families, it is just as necessary to educate them so that they are supportive and engaged.
