Impact of food insecurity and malnutrition on the burden of Non-communicable diseases and death in Ethiopia: A situational analysis.

Background: Currently, Ethiopia is undergoing an epidemiological transition. Consequently, NCDs are becoming an increasingly important public health problem in the country. Furthermore, the country has faced a high level of food insecurity.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review based on published articles from 2010 to 2018 and WHO reports on food insecurity, malnutrition and their impacts on the burden of NCDs death in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the seriousness of the NCDs cause of deaths in relation to food insecurity and malnutrition. In addition, policy for protecting vulnerability and the implementation of SDGs on food insecurity, malnutrition, and NCDs were also discussed. The results of this review highlight the progress that was made in the overall condition of food insecurity, nutrition, and diseases in the country.

Results: The finding shows that there has been large burden of recurrent food insecurity, which could be due to malnutrition that might be associated to inconsistent rainfall distribution and also the experience of violent conflict in recent periods. However, the prevalence of undernourishment was declined from 75% in 1990s to 32% in 2015 though the numbers indicate a marginal reduction. But unexpectedly still the child mortality rate of under-five that results from malnutrition accounts about 57% of all children deaths. As the result of malnutrition, obesity is recognized as the determinants for a number of NCDs such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Communicable diseases seems the only identified health problem in the country, however; the burden of NCDs is facing major aspects. Hence, NCDs like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, currently, are among the leading causes of death among adults, which is responsible for 39% of deaths in the country in 2015 while the risk of premature NCDs mortality was reached about 15.2%. Of these deaths, 4% was due to cancer and 9% was related to other NCDs such as obesity and nutrition-related cases. Therefore, food insecurity has a high-flying impact in early death from chronic health conditions and the cause of undernutrition that leads to an augmented susceptibility and decreased flexibility to NCDs as a result of compromised nutrition.

Conclusion: In order to sustain the economic growth, reduce poverty and achieving food security, the Ethiopian government has started discourse at high level of agenda hoping to avoid recurrent violent conflict, food insecurity and famine by targeting urban low-income households and empowering youth and women.