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- Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 African countries with the highest hunger levels.
- This list is courtesy of the Financing Africa report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
- South Sudan ranks number 1 on the list.
Hunger dramatically reduces productivity by impairing people's capacity to work productively. Poor nutrition diminishes physical strength and mental clarity, hence limiting economic production.
However, worse than that is the effect of hunger on individual lives.
It goes without saying that hunger poses a direct danger to human health by weakening immune systems and making people more susceptible to illness.
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Malnutrition, especially in children, causes stunting, wasting, and other serious health repercussions that could last into adulthood.
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This in turn can lead to an overburdened healthcare system, particularly in some African countries that may be ill-equipped to handle such a financial responsibility.
The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, which seeks to eliminate hunger, ensure food security, enhance nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, emphasizes the need of solving this issue.
As seen in the most recent Financing Africa report, by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, there is no African country that has achieved this goal, as most are far below realization.
With that said, here are the 10 African countries with the most hunger, as per their SDG 2 index score.
The lower the score, the higher the hunger level, as they indicate what level hunger has been combated.
Top 10 African countries with the highest hunger levels
| Rank | Country | SDG2 index |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Sudan | 19.8 |
| 2. | Sudan | 21.9 |
| 3. | Somalia | 27.3 |
| 4. | Central Africa Republic | 36.5 |
| 5. | Chad | 38.5 |
| 6. | Mauritania | 42.6 |
| 7. | Cabo Verde | 45.0 |
| 8. | Botswana | 45.1 |
| 9. | Comoros | 45.2 |
| 10. | Niger | 45.3 |