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Imani is 4 years old and lives in South Sudan in Africa. Imani faces brutal malnutrition. Imani has protein-energy malnutrition which means he doesn’t get enough protein in his diet. He is underweight because of his lack of protein. He is also suffering from malnutrition because of where he lives. In South Sudan disease is a leading cause of malnutrition in children as well as adults. One reason for disease is the harsh climate in this area. South Sudan has times throughout the year where it either rains a lot or it is dead dry. Another reason disease is high in this region is the lack of clean drinking water. Because of the civil wars in South Sudan, agricultural cycles have been interrupted for farmers so they can’t grow a lot of the foods needed to maintain a healthy nutrition, such as vegetables. Also, along with diseases that humans get, animals have been getting diseases too which means if Imani were to eat the meat he would get sick. So, he can’t eat meat because of the diseases in animals and he can’t eat food that is planted because all the people fled the farm land because of the war.

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It’s difficult to stop a civil war in a country, but there are a few ways we can help with education and insanitation and disease to lessen the amount of malnutrition in South Sudan. There are many people and organizations who volunteer to go to poor, third world countries like South Sudan to help out with education and sanitation. These organizations also raise money to buy schools books and other supplies and help build school buildings in general. These organizations also raise money to give these poor countries more food--protein rich foods in this sense, to help with protein-energy nutrition-- and build sites to clean water so their water is drinkable. In addition, doctors go to these poor countries to train doctors that are inexperienced so they can treat patients and give out medicine and vaccines to sick people and hopefully end malnutrition for good.

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Another outside force that causes malnutrition is insanitation and the spread of disease in South Sudan. The water in South Sudan is incredibly unsafe to drink and hard to sanitize due to the civil war and lack of money in this area. Only half the population of South Sudan have access to clean drinking water which still leaves a large majority of people with unsafe water. Along with this, people in South Sudan don’t have proper plumbing or hygiene. These three things help spread disease across South Sudan. Unsanitary water can cause diseases such as diarrhea which can lead to malnutrition. Diarrhea can cause stunting in height and a loss of weight and malnutrition will continue to flourish with the continuity of the spread of disease and insanitation.

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Part 2: Effects of Protein Malnutrition on the body

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Part 2: Effects of Protein Malnutrition on the body

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Chronic malnutrition in early childhood has a negative effect on the body’s nervous system. Children who suffer from protein deficiency can have impaired motor skills and intellectual abilities. Reasoning and spatial abilities are very affected as well as an intermediate effect on memory and rote learning.

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The education in South Sudan is very poor. This is partially due to the war because of the violence that spreads around the schools, it’s hard to keep kids safe in schools. Also, the government shuts down a lot of the schools or they are looted and taken by gangs and people with weapons as hideouts perhaps. While there are schools that are still up and running, they lack resources needed for a proper education. Because of all this, citizens of South Sudan, like Imani, have a difficult time receiving a good education and therefore cannot be informed about malnutrition and what they can do to be more healthy and what is actually causing their body issues.

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Alterations in head circumference and brain growth in malnourished children are reported; these alterations negatively affect higher-brain functions and lead to permanent neuropsychological damage.

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Proteins in the body have a half-life span. Meaning that they are constantly being digested and used making it necessary for continuous protein production and new sources of protein building blocks (amino acids) in a person’s diet. Protein malnutrition alters the protein digestion system making the body digest their own proteins to harvest the amino acids (since they aren’t in the diet) to make new, necessary proteins. This overall makes the muscles shrink, which make the person with the protein deficiency skinny and bony (body does not have adequate muscles) and severely weak.

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Protein malnutrition during critical times of growth for children can have long term effects on brain development that cannot be fixed by a high protein diet later in life. Neurotransmitter development can be slowed due to protein malnutrition which then leads to a inadequate development and functioning of chemical circuits in the brain.

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Proteins are necessary for the construction, maintenance and repair of cells in the body. If someone doesn’t get enough protein it affects all body systems and does not allow the body to repair and maintain organ cells which leads to organ failure and cause them to shut down because they cannot function without the necessary organ cells.

The immune system in the body needs proteins to produce antibodies that fight off infection. Without proteins the cells in the body are not able to manufacture antibodies that protect your body against infection. Antibodies are specialized proteins so without protein antibodies will not be able to form. So protein malnutrition makes the body more susceptible to infection because antibodies are not traveling through the bloodstream fighting off infections that enter the body.

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A new civil war in South Sudan began in December of 2013. Rebel factions quickly formed and seized control of many regional towns. Due to this, thousands were killed and many were forced to flee. Amongst the violence, food is scarce because farmers are unable to plant crops and hunters are not able to easily hunt for animals because of all the chaos throughout the region. Due to this, 1.1 million children in the area face some type of malnutrition. Nearly 5.5 million people in the region suffer from severe food shortages. Much of the region faces starvation and don’t have access to food sources which is a large reason for the widespread malnutrition in the area, like Imani experiences.

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Works Cited

“7 Adverse Effects Of Protein Deficiency.” Free Fitness Tips, 19 Dec. 2012, freefitnesstips.co.uk/protein-deficiency/.

FAO. “South Sudan Facing Major Food and Nutrition Crisis.” FAO - News Article: South Sudan Facing Major Food and Nutrition Crisis, FAO, 5 Feb. 2014, www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/213573/icode/.

Hoorweg, J, and J P Stanfield. “The Effects of Protein Energy Malnutrition in Early Childhood on Intellectual and Motor Abilities in Later Childhood and Adolescence.” Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology., U.S. National Library of Medicine, June 1976, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/820586.

John, Dr. Tina M. St. “Consequences of Protein Deficiency and Malnutrition.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group, 3 Oct. 2017, www.livestrong.com/article/431291-consequences-of-protein-deficiency-and-malnutrition/.

Joseph, Victor Vuni. “Water and Sanitation Hygiene in South Sudan: What Needs to Be Done to Bridge the Gap?” Welcome to South Sudan Medical Journal, South Sudan Medical Journal, www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com/archive/may-2014/water-and-sanitation-hygiene-in-south-sudan-what-needs-to-be-done-to-bridge-the-gap.html.

Morgane, P. J. “The Effects of Protein Malnutrition on the Developing Central Nervous System in the Rat.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Pergamon, 17 Mar. 2003, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0149763478900593.

“South Sudan Profile - Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 12 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14019202.

Team, Enough. “Food Culture and Conflict in South Sudan.” The Enough Project, Enough Project, 8 June 2017, enoughproject.org/blog/food-culture-and-conflict-south-sudan.

Team, Enough. “Food Culture and Conflict in South Sudan.” The Enough Project, Enough Project, 8 June 2017, enoughproject.org/blog/food-culture-and-conflict-south-sudan.

“THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF MALNUTRITION IN SOUTH SUDAN.” The Underlying Causes of Malnutrition in South Sudan | Action Against Hunger, Action Against Hunger, 15 Mar. 2004, www.actionagainsthunger.org/blog/underlying-causes-malnutrition-south-sudan.

Walters, Quincy J. “In South Sudan, A Struggle To Get, And Keep, Kids In Schools.” NPR, NPR, 20 Mar. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/03/20/465439724/in-south-sudan-a-struggle-to-get-and-keep-kids-in-schools.