South Africa’s food security crisis is illustrated once again by statistics from the Department of Health showing that 15 000 people were hospitalised in the past year because of severe acute malnutrition.
South Africa is food secure at a national level, but not at a household level, with lower-income households, and children in particular, suffering the worst. High unemployment and rising food prices have made food increasingly unaffordable for poor people.
The latest statistics were published in a report by News24, which focused on the situation in Jozini, in rural KwaZulu Natal province.
“Poverty is getting worse in our communities, and we have mothers who come to the hospital two times a month because they don’t have anything to eat,” according to a dietician at Bethseda Hospital.
He said the high unemployment rate, poverty and teenage pregnancy contributed to malnutrition in the area.
“We had high incidents of malnutrition in children under five years. However, we have worked very hard to reduce this number. We try to intervene as early as possible and we are working with community healthcare workers who go from house to house and can identify children who need help before it becomes acute malnutrition,” he said.
News24 reported that a group of churches, civil society groups and academics has endorsed a proposal by the DG Murray Trust and the Grow Great Zero-Stunting Campaign for the government and the food industry to contribute equally to making at least one product label of 10 highly nutritious foods affordable to poorer households.
