Marlies Overbeeke

Undernourishment in Sub-saharan Africa: Analyzing the Most Crucial Variables Influencing and Determining Undernourishment Rates in Sub-saharan Africa Marlies Overbeeke

Since 1992, the annual decline in the undernourished fraction of the world''s population has been minimal making undernourishment one of the most pressing and alarming global issues that is high on the agenda of organizations like the United Nations. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations annually publishes a list of best and worst performing countries that respectively significantly decreased or increased the proportion of the population that was undernourished. Strikingly, seven out of ten global best performers and four out of ten global worst performers are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using Ragin''s qualitative case study research strategy, this book explores the variables affecting undernourishment rates in Africa by using the three best performers (Angola, Chad and Ghana) and the three worst performers (Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia) as the unit of analysis. This book should be particularly useful for anyone, be it in the fields of academia, government or industry, interested in the UN Millennium Development Goals and/or those keen to understand the underlying causes of undernourishment.