One of the people who can make a real contribution to combating South Africa’s high level of malnutrition and child stunting is agriculture minister John Steenhuisen.
At the launch of the HSRC’s National Food and Nutrition Security Survey report earlier this month, Steenhuisen said the survey data would enable a more targeted government approach to addressing food insecurity in South Africa.
The survey showed that some 20 million South Africans, or 63% of households, suffer food insecurity at various levels. It found that 17.5% of households are severely food insecure, 26.7% experience moderate food insecurity and 19.3% are mildly food insecure.
Steenhuisen said not enough government resources had been allocated to food access programmes, Engineering News reported.
While the government had previously adopted more of a “shotgun” approach to tackling food insecurity, the HSRC data provided detail on the areas where help was required.
“Budgets and interventions can now be implemented in a focused manner to deal with this problem,” he said, adding that his department was already coordinating with other departments to alleviate hunger in areas where it was most needed; however, a “whole-of-society” approach would be necessary to fully solve the problem.
The HSRC report provides Steenhuisen and other ministers with information on child nutrition and stunting, province by province. The highest levels of child stunting were found in the Western Cape and the Northern Cape, and the lowest was reported in Limpopo province.
Steenhuisen can also help to improve child nutrition by promoting VAT-free chicken. He heads the Democratic Alliance party, which has championed the idea of removing VAT from essential food items, and is a minister in the government of national unity headed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has elevated it to national policy.
