COVID-19 threatens to starve Africa (1 Viewer)

[DaveXA]

I am completely unqualified to even hazard a guess

I don't think anyone is if we're really honest.

 

[mjcouvi]

The disease kills hardly anyone, you understand? Only 100000, that’s minute compared to how many people will starve

 

[DaveXA]

You’re not qualified to understand how starvation kills more than a disease?

That's not really what you asked though.

 

[mjcouvi]

That's not really what you asked though.

It’s what I asked

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

You’re not qualified to understand how starvation kills more than a disease?

I thought you were asking about Chinese expansion into Africa

 

[DaveXA]

It’s what I asked

You asked whether Chinese expansionism was worth it, and gmr said he wasn't qualified to answer that, then you commented about more people starving than the disease, which wasn't what he was responding to. I don't think.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

You asked whether Chinese expansionism was worth it, and gmr said he wasn't qualified to answer that, then you commented about more people starving than the disease, which wasn't what he was responding to. I don't think.

This

 

[St. Widge]

The disease kills hardly anyone, you understand? Only 100000, that’s minute compared to how many people will starve

This, of course, is all based on your assumption that something we are doing will in fact cause massive starvation in Africa. Which, of course, is not something that you have proven. It's just something that you assumed.

 

[St. Widge]

I mean, even the article you cited says this:

"At the same time, obesity and noncommunicable diseases (heart disease and diabetes, for example) are rising in many low-income countries, Africa included, and both are proving to be serious complications for people infected with COVID-19. Much of the continent is also still dealing with other complex infectious diseases — HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected tropical illnesses — that will make it more difficult to treat COVID-19 infections.

As it expands on the continent, COVID-19 will put further stress on already strained health systems — with limited numbers of ventilators and proper beds, minimal personal protective equipment and, in some places, too few health care workers."

So it seems they think as COVID-19 expands in Africa, it will be worse (Read: Kill more people) in Africa than in other places.

 

[St. Widge]

In fact, the article you cited talks about both starvation issues and how much worse COVID may be in Africa because of many factors. There is no discussion of how anything we in the U.S. or China for that matter are doing the the food chain. In fact the article says a lot of the issues with the food chain are local to Africa:

"At the same time, food supply chains are starting to falter. Lockdowns in 30 African countries have made it very challenging for farmers to sell their goods in markets or for workers to get to fields. Food assistance is not always making it to those most in need. Many informal markets — the infamous wet or open-air markets, where most Africans shop for food — are closed, further imperiling food insecurity and threatening malnutrition. Reports from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition’s offices in Nigeria and Mozambique note that prices of food, particularly fruits and vegetables, have increased significantly."

Then is talks about how it is hard for them to social distance:

"In many African cities, social distancing and self-isolation are a recipe for disaster. Slums and informal settlements are overcrowded and lack basic services such as running water, cooking facilities and electricity. And even if people infected with the coronavirus had safe places to isolate, some feel they must work to keep their families fed. Commutes to work often involve overfilled buses and long traffic jams — which increase the spread of disease.

With global unemployment rising, remittances worldwide are also are expected to fall — by 20 percent, or nearly $110 billion, according to the World Bank. In sub-Saharan Africa, they may drop by 23 percent. This will push more people to go to work, increasing their exposure.

To be sure, African countries have a few things working in their favor. For one, they have experience with massive infectious diseases — HIV/AIDS, Ebola and polio, to name a few — and public health systems have been strengthened over the past decade. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been hard hit by Ebola, but there are signs of progress with a declining case load in early 2020."

Then it talks about Africa needing to take lessons from the rest of the world in and make sure to keep their food supply chain moving by using the fact that they have a lot of land and farmer to grow food:

"In the current crisis, African governments can take some early lessons from the rest of the world that has been grappling with the pandemic a month or two longer, and work to keep the food supply moving. The continent is still 60 percent rural, and many urban Africans have close ties to the countryside, owning land or family plots. With luck, lower population density in rural areas may slow the spread of COVID-19, allowing farmers to continue to grow food — that is, if they can get access to seeds and the technologies needed to plant and harvest. Support to food producers is an absolute necessity."

 

[mjcouvi]

That is a really long post

 

[St. Widge]

That is a really long post

It's mostly quotes from the article you posted.

 

[mjcouvi]

I didn’t read it

 

[mjcouvi]

But you did

 

[St. Widge]

But you did

Maybe you should, it might help you know what you are talking about .