Severity

Severe hunger can be seen by the following signs;

• Poor health and loss of weight in human,
• Premature harvest of cassava,
• rise on price of food items,
• increase in rate of sicknesses among the community members,
• increase rate of theft,
• increased cases of domestic violence and separation among couples,
• reduced quantity of breast milk for children,
• reduced quantity of food prepared,
• food eaten once a day,
• children cry a lot
• Increased rate of malnutrition

Duration

When severe hunger strikes the district it normally persists for months

Signs

The following are the early warning signs that are used traditionally;

• High rate of flowering/ yielding of mangoes is a sign of severe hunger
• When butterflies come in large numbers this shows that there is going to be severe hunger
• When you see that there is no left over of food in homes then this is a sign of severe hunger