2021 Articles

Climate Impacts on Nutrition in Senegal

Malnutrition, in all its forms—including obesity, undernutrition (stunting, wasting, underweight), and dietary risks for non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—is the leading cause of poor health globally (Swinburn et al., 2019). Climate variability and change stand to exacerbate malnutrition through effects on both the natural and social systems upon which humans depend, including food systems. In areas most highly affected by such changes but with the least adaptive capacity, such as West Africa, the deleterious effects of these changes are most likely to be felt, especially by the most vulnerable (Barros et al., 2014; Ouedraogo et al.,2018; Serdeczny et al., 2017). Situated in the Sahel, Senegal is one of the many countries in Africa whose population derives its livelihoods mainly through rain-fed agriculture and on-farm activities (Alfani et al., 2019). As such, the nearly 70% of its population that depends upon the land through agricultural and livestock production are particularly vulnerable to the changes in precipitation and temperature brought about by climatic variability and change (Carranza et al., 2019; Ouedraogo et al., 2018; USAID, 2017). Moreover, West Africa has one of the highest burdens of malnutrition in the world, and the outlook on the health of its under-five population, which already suffers from a wasting prevalence of 9% and stunting of 16.5%, is likely to get worse under conditions of climate variability and change (Dunn & Johnson, 2018; Global Nutrition Report, 2019; Lazzaroni & Wagner, 2016). In light of these changes, it is important to document and, where possible, quantify the risks that endanger the nutrition of the Senegalese people, their households, and communities, such that appropriate interventions, tools, and policies to prevent and mitigate these effects can be developed. Towards this end, this literature review examines the current documented evidence, from both peer-reviewed and grey literature, of climate impacts on nutrition in Senegal. The information and analysis incorporated here is
intended to guide the development of climate services for the nutrition community and its related sectors in Senegal through the Adapting Agriculture to Climate Today, for Tomorrow Columbia World Project (ACToday).