theme 10

• Civil War, Crop Failure, and Child Stunting in Rwanda
• Exogenous shocks


  Shocks that are outside the control of the individuals affected, such as civil conflict and crop failure
• Rational


  (in classical economic theory) economic agents are able to consider the outcome of their choices and recognise the net benefits of each one
• Rationality in classical economic theory is a flawed assumption as people usually don't act rationally
• Barker hypothesis


  • Negative shocks affecting a child's growth trajectory early on may lead to lower adult height, less cognitive achievement and human capital accumulation, lower productivity and wages, and higher mortality, particularly in low-income countries
• Agriculture dominates the economies of most West African countries, being the key employer and major source of income and exports
• Exploitation of high value mineral resources has become an increasing economic activity in various countries
• Policy makers view improvements in child health as a top priority
• The majority of the poor are concentrated in rural areas
• While it is the sub-region in Africa with the lowest prevalence of undernourishment (15%), two countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone, are amongst those with the highest rate of undernourishment
• Civil conflict


  A type of exogenous shock that has received surprisingly little attention in the literature
• Both Liberia and Sierra Leone have suffered long-lasting conflicts that have undermined the wellbeing of their people and the economy
• Conflict and food insecurity are closely related

  
• Crop failure


  Another type of exogenous shock
• The proportion of food emergencies that can be considered human-made has increased over time
• Conflict and economic problems were cited as the main cause of more than 35 percent of food emergencies between 1992 and 2003, as compared to around 15 percent in the period from 1986 to 1991

  
• The study examines the impact of civil conflict and crop failure on the health of Rwandan children born between 1987 and 1991
• More than half of the countries where undernourishment is most prevalent experienced conflict during the 1990s
• As of early September 2003, the number of countries facing serious food shortages requiring international assistance in the world stood at 38, with 22 of these in Africa
• The study uses an integrated household survey, combining health and agricultural data with event data from reports by non-governmental organizations
• Civil strife or the existence of internally displaced people or refugees are among the reasons for more than half of the reported food emergencies in Africa

  
• In West Africa, the emerging picture of food insecurity is more complex and arises from the interaction of both human and natural disasters

  
• Causes of war within West Africa range from a diverse mix of environmental, social, political and cultural factors
• Conflict in West Africa stems from a variety of factors, with similarities across countries but also quite distinct problems unique to specific countries
• Conflict constitutes the major explanatory factor for famine, hunger and malnutrition, affecting the entire region given the complex nature of the humanitarian crisis that results from conflict
• Poverty, natural disasters and gender discrimination result in food insecurity and when combined with conflict tend to exacerbate further the extent of the humanitarian crisis

  
• The study uses the variation across birth cohorts to capture the child's exposure to the shock
• A major difficulty that arises from internal conflict is that hunger is more often than not used to target both the armed groups and civilians
• Conflict has severe negative economic and social consequences, with the reduction in human capital as well as physical and social capital having strong implications for food security

  
• The study finds that crop failure and civil conflict negatively affect children's health, but the roles of gender and poverty differ for each shock
• Conflict is disruptive and has strong implications for rural and agricultural development and growth
• The short term emergency responses to address the needs of people suffering the consequences of the conflict need to be located in a broader long term perspective of food policy framework aimed at improving people's and food system resilience

  
• Gender bias


  The phenomenon where there is a bias in outcomes favoring one gender over another
• For crop failure, girls from poor households are severely negatively affected, but boys (in either poor or non-poor households) do not experience a significant negative health effect
• Countries over common access and usage of shared resources may vary in intensity and may spill from a border dispute between local populations to a full state confrontation; and problems of migrants/refugees linked to pressure on natural resources, unclear or disputed property rights and access may rise
• For children exposed to conflict, the health status of both boys and girls is negatively affected, and children in both poor and non-poor households suffer these consequences
• The multi-dimensional nature of conflicts, their diversity and trends has serious consequences for structural stability long-term
• The capacity of the ruling authority to carry out essential functions becomes increasingly difficult and weakens their legitimate basis
• Conflict impedes the state machinery to effectively negotiate increased political security and economic activity
• There is a significant body of evidence establishing an association between health in utero and in early childhood and later life outcomes