1. Extreme Hunger in South Sudan

http://www.irinnews.org/node/256047

This case study is on the famine situation in South Sudan. This article states that, “South Sudan is in total free-fall and the world doesn’t care because South Sudanese refugees are not washing up on the shores of Europe.” According to the map of countries color-coded there is data for GDP and life expectancy but none for whether South Sudan is under-nourished or not. This is what the article is talking about – no one knows there is extreme hunger in South Sudan because it does not affect them. The goals of the development is to spread awareness of this hunger so there can be something done about it. There are studies showing the 40,000 people in a catastrophic state as well as an additional 2.79 million people in a crisis or emergency state. Through my learning during this module, I suggest this may be because South Sudan is currently in civil war, causing negative health effects to its people since they are living in a state where their natural resources are being depleted for the war rather than used resourcefully for living.

2. Reducing Child Mortality Through Vitamin A in Nepal

http://www.cgdev.org/page/case-4-reducing-child-mortality-through-vitamin-nepal

This case study looks at the child mortality rate in Nepal. Vitamin A deficiency affects 21% of developing world’s preschool-aged children and also leads to the death of over 800,000 women and children every year. It is responsible for measles, diarrhea, and malaria for ¼ of child mortality. In order to combat this, Nepal initiated the National Vitamin A Program, which allowed for children to receive yearly supplements of vitamin A capsules. The goal was to combat child mortality caused by vitamin A deficiency. This relates to the development area of life expectancy. Other developing countries can take into account the actions of Nepal and look towards raising their life expectancy by providing vitamin A capsules. Rosling shows that countries like Turkey, Poland, Russia, and Pakistan have higher child mortality rates than countries expected to have a high mortality rate. Perhaps these countries could take example of Nepal in order to combat part of their child mortality rate, which is likely to be caused by Vitamin A deficiency.

3. Vietnam vs Case Studies

When looking at both studies, relationships that can be made to a place I used to temporarily live in the summer, Vietnam. Like Nepal, Vietnam is also located in Asia and can have a climate relatable to South Sudan. In Vietnam, vitamin deficiencies are high and are the reasons 1/3 of young children are stunted. Vietnam has a food safety crisis, but would not be considered a hungry country like Sudan. However, during my time in Vietnam, it was very different from America because in the capital, there were literally homeless people grabbing at your legs begging for food or money. They were starved to the bone and visibly malnourished. From the case studies, Vietnam could also implement a program to provide vitamins to their children so there is a healthier lifestyle and growth for them. Though Vietnam has had great economic development recently, many do not consider it a developing country due to this, but from my own experience, there is a lot can be done to fix the homeless and hungry situation there, such as spreading awareness that this is something happening nearly everywhere in Vietnam.