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Essay / Healthy Eating Essay - 716
According to the government of Kenya, “more than 10 million people suffer from chronic food insecurity and poor nutrition.” Food access and availability are mainly influenced by population growth, low income, cost of nutritious foods, sufficient food supply systems, disease, resources and environmental disasters such as floods and droughts. (Republic of Kenya, 2011). All of these factors are putting increased pressure on the country to increase access to food, as the population grows and diet-related health problems increase. There are interventions implemented by ministries in Kenya, such as health and nutrition programs, restocking programs, stocking, food and feed procurement (Bahemuka, n.d.). Although the government is addressing these issues and implementing measures, Kenya is currently "one of the fifteen countries most at risk of food insecurity", according to the World Food Program's Food Security Index (Ng’ang’a, 2015). Individuals do not have access to nutritious, adequate and safe foods to meet their own personal dietary needs and lead healthy lives. A healthy diet is almost impossible for a third of households because the cost of nutritious foods is too high for both urban and rural populations (Dixon et al., 2007). Therefore, not consuming an adequate nutritious meal regularly can lead to many health problems. Malnutrition is one of the most serious problems