South Africa: Children Go Hungry for Days As New Study Shows Food Crisis Is Getting Worse
A new study has found that hunger is not a passing problem for struggling South African families. It is a permanent, worsening condition.
The research comes from an 18-month partnership between FoodForward SA (FFSA) and the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (Saldru) at the University of Cape Town.
Researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with heads of 796 households that regularly receive food through FFSA’s network of organisations across the country. They also held focus groups with people receiving food donations in Mitchells Plain outside Cape Town.
The study used internationally recognised tools, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES).
The findings show that food insecurity is increasing, severe and persistent, even where food assistance programmes are already in place.
Children are bearing the brunt. Most children live in moderately food insecure households, while roughly one quarter to one third experience severe food insecurity.
One mother in the focus group said: “I have to tell my children that there is no food tonight. They can’t understand why, and they start to cry.”
In underserved communities, more than 60% of household income goes to debt servicing. This leaves families with little capacity to cope with rising food costs.
As food insecurity deepens, families move from rationing food to skipping meals, and ultimately to going entire days without eating. The report warns that “as food insecurity deepens, so do the risks families are forced to take.”
The report calls for child-focused interventions including early childhood nutrition programmes, geographically targeted support such as community kitchens, time-sensitive food or voucher assistance, and safety nets that prevent food-related debt.
By Scrolla.
