Gambia has a serious malnutrition problem that needs attention. The dietary energy supply is barely meeting the population energy requirements and 30% of the population is undernourished, a proportion which has increased over the last decade. This malnourishment is due to low agricultural production, recurrent droughts and poverty. UNICEF is trying to help Gambia, but the problem lies in the imports, agricultural production and breast feeding techniques(UNICEF.org). The agricultural production is producing more exports than imports, which helps the economy stay at its current status, but also keeps it’s citizens malnourished. The people choose what the country imports through their wants, and since the people want cheap goods, that bring in
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Gambia currently imports raw sugar, cotton, rice, malt extract and cement. Gambia should stop importing raw sugar and malt extract and start buying food for the people. Raw sugar and malt extract add up to about 72.6 million dollars in imports, Gambia could use this money to import foods high in protein and nutrients the people are missing(atlas.media.mit.edu). The pros to this solution are that the people will be healthier, which will increase their productivity and thus the economy will slowly get better. Another side benefit to increasing the nutritional standards of the Gambian citizens is that the death rate of the average Gambian will increase due to the increased nutrition. Another positive outcome of the increased nutrition is that when children eat healthy and are nourished they tend to perform better in school and are more attentive. This will cause them to become a more productive student that can learn more in school. The final positive outcome of increasing the nutritional intake of the Gambia citizens is that if a person maintains a healthier diet, the person's immune system will work more efficiently at fighting off diseases. A con of this solution is that it will provide less of a food supply since healthy foods tend to cost more than the fatty …show more content…
This problem can be solved through economic measures as well as agricultural changes. These solutions consist of replacing current imports with new imports, using imports to make new, more expensive exports and finally to grow a variety of crops that will benefit the diets of the Gambian people. Not only will these solutions affect the citizens of Gambia, but also the natural resources. These solutions will cut down the need for slash and burn agriculture, so the natural resources can be replaced. This problem can be fixed, but Gambia is running out of time because the problem continues to get worse each and every day, and if nothing is done the whole country may succumb to malnutrition or even
Gambia currently imports raw sugar, cotton, rice, malt extract and cement. Gambia should stop importing raw sugar and malt extract and start buying food for the people. Raw sugar and malt extract add up to about 72.6 million dollars in imports, Gambia could use this money to import foods high in protein and nutrients the people are missing(atlas.media.mit.edu). The pros to this solution are that the people will be healthier, which will increase their productivity and thus the economy will slowly get better. Another side benefit to increasing the nutritional standards of the Gambian citizens is that the death rate of the average Gambian will increase due to the increased nutrition. Another positive outcome of the increased nutrition is that when children eat healthy and are nourished they tend to perform better in school and are more attentive. This will cause them to become a more productive student that can learn more in school. The final positive outcome of increasing the nutritional intake of the Gambia citizens is that if a person maintains a healthier diet, the person's immune system will work more efficiently at fighting off diseases. A con of this solution is that it will provide less of a food supply since healthy foods tend to cost more than the fatty …show more content…
This problem can be solved through economic measures as well as agricultural changes. These solutions consist of replacing current imports with new imports, using imports to make new, more expensive exports and finally to grow a variety of crops that will benefit the diets of the Gambian people. Not only will these solutions affect the citizens of Gambia, but also the natural resources. These solutions will cut down the need for slash and burn agriculture, so the natural resources can be replaced. This problem can be fixed, but Gambia is running out of time because the problem continues to get worse each and every day, and if nothing is done the whole country may succumb to malnutrition or even