The Weather of Bengal in the Context of Climate Change and Food Insecurity

Delso Khossa"

The walking stick is an African identity instrument that represents recognition of the chronology of human life. This instrument is a symbolic part of local wedding ceremonies, where in the Mozambican context it is known as lobolo. Men are usually offered a walking stick by their sons-in-law when the lobolo ceremony is held, that is, in the process of holding the lobolo ceremony, the wooden instrument signifies the growth of the daughter's father. However, its use as a third aid for the lower limbs is limited to ageing. Age is the primary factor if the elderly person is already weak in locomotion. For example, a 50-year-old adult, in the practice of the lobolo ceremony, can be given a walking stick by his son-in-law, as cultural values and attitudes dictate. This age of “walking stick”, in the context of frequent climate change, suffers the implications of food insecurity, health, sanitation, violence, injustice, responsibility for caring for grandchildren and housing, creating an inability to achieve social and economic balance. It is in this path that the essay maps the effects of climate change in the Mozambican context. According to the World Health Organization, the term healthy aging refers to the development and maintenance of functional abilities that contribute to well-being in old age. The term vulnerability of older people refers to limitations in the participation of equal power in society, and hypervulnerability refers to the simultaneous occurrence of vulnerability factors that increase risks and difficulties in the “crutch” phase. These factors include biological, economic, social, political, cultural, technological and environmental factors that increase danger and reduce adaptive capacities to the context. Older people with low incomes or without official support are more likely to prolong serious situations in the event of climate change, generating food insecurity or begging. Hypervulnerability to poverty accelerates the defenselessness of the immune system. Therefore, due to the risk of this chronological phase, the United Nations and other institutions have designed legal instruments to protect this class. Human rights are designed to include citizens regardless of religion, ethnicity, nationality, social class or politics. They are imprescriptible, inalienable, and universal, ensuring the principle of human dignity and opportunities. With the recognition of the United Nations in 1973, the First General Assembly of the United Nations was held, which called on member countries to ensure the rights of older persons. Then, in 1982, the First World Conference on Ageing was held, which coined the First Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing. In the same decade, the discussion led to the creation of legal mechanisms, which culminated in the San Salvador Protocol to guarantee the special protection of older persons, and the establishment of the International Day of Older Persons in 1990 and 1991, which conceived the United Nations principles for Older Persons. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2023), in 2002, the Second World Assembly on Ageing was held, where the Madrid Political Declaration and International Plan of Action were created. It was at this stage that the Decade of Sustainable Ageing Plan (2021–2030) was conceived. In the Mozambican context, the 1990 Constitution of the Republic, in article no. 95, “all citizens have the right to assistance in the event of incapacity and in old age”. In turn, Resolution no. 84/2002 of 12 November, which focuses on guidelines for the protection of the elderly, allowed the approval of the Policy for the Elderly and the Strategy for its Implementation. This policy consists of promoting and defending the realization of the rights of the elderly enshrined in the national and international legal system. The approved policy maps the problems affecting the elderly in Mozambique, such as, for example, the lack of access to basic health care, drinking water, adequate food, clothing, transport and decent housing; the prevalence of manifestations of abuse and neglect, characterized by disregard, intimidation, physical and psychological violence, humiliation, abandonment and family ostracism. It should be noted that geographical areas contribute to the occurrence of endemic changes, affecting older people. The occurrence of climate change results from climate, geography, relief, soil, food and drinking water, impacting disease outbreaks such as soil contamination and the lifestyle of older people. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2002) estimates that by 2025, the world will have 800 million more older people. On the African continent, it is estimated that there will be 63 million. The majority of older people live in developing countries. In 2019, United Nations data in the report entitled World Population Ageing Report 2019 reveals that 37% of the world's older population lived in East Asia and Southeast Asia; 26% in Europe and North America; 18% in Central Asia and South Asia; 8% in Latin America and the Caribbean; 5% in Sub-Saharan Africa; 4% in North Africa and West Africa; and 0.7% in Oceania. In terms of projection, people aged 60 in developing countries will increase from 652 million in 2017 to 1.7 billion in 2050 and in developed countries, it will be from 310 million to 427 million. In the case of the country, according to projection data from the United Nations (2019), by 2070, it will have around 9 million older people. Approximately 22% of the elderly population in the Mozambican context are poor according to the Global Older Persons Index (2015). The study by Castelo-Branco and Andrés (2019) reveals that the country has 1.25 million elderly people, corresponding to 4.5%, whose assistance in this age group of 60 years, only half of elderly people do not have access to social security. The situation in the African context, Yeboah (2025), demonstrates that the economic and infrastructural precariousness of poor society in the face of climate change, influencing the frequency of food insecurity. The issue of adaptation and resilience to climate change can strengthen and promote sustainable food systems. The population aging process differs from context to context. In developed countries, aging emerges in the increase in life expectancy such as improvements in health, sanitation and nutrition; in less developed countries, it results from the fall in birth rates demanded by access to education, urbanization and changes in values (Sousa, 2023). When looking at the behavior of the birth rate in the context of Mozambique, a pyramid structure is observed, meaning that the few living libraries are prone to vulnerable conditions. The WHO study (2005) on climate change and the reappearance of epidemics (malaria, diarrhea and malnutrition) has already caused the death of more than 3 million people. The article by Sugahara and António (2012) shows that, despite the vulnerability of the social and economic conditions of this chronological class, the aging process is slow in the African context, however the effects of climate change such as food insecurity can multiply the rate of loss of elderly people. The country faces challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in objective 2, in its paragraph 2.1. “to end hunger and ensure access for all people, in particular the poorest and people in vulnerable situations, including children, to quality, nutritious and sufficient food throughout the year” shows that the last 4 years have not been enough to eradicate food insecurity in this age group. The other challenges that the Mozambican State faces are: first, the inefficiency of strategies to respond to the effects of climate change, specifically in highly vulnerable areas where the poor population lives; second, the cyclical corruption rate that plagues the National Institute of Social Security, which would help to minimize the vulnerability of the elderly class; third, the marginalization of this class in the social fabric, such as allegations of witchcraft, violence, war, hunger, lack of care, legal assistance and less presence in the political sphere to defend and protect their rights; the deficit in medical assistance, in reception areas and food insecurity generate hypervulnerability, causing the loss of living libraries. Risk communication in all government actions is crucial due to the risk context that tends to shake the country. There is an urgent need to invest in communication as a whole to shape certain behaviors such as abandonment, use of technology to obtain information and even for leisure. Public policies without investment in communication tend to have less chance of success. In terms of response, there is an intersectoral need: civil society and the media industry must restore the guarantee of human rights and promote dignity through equality policies.

2025/12/3