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Add to Preferred SourcesThe number of food insecure people in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region in the 2018/19 consumption year is 29 million people, representing 14 percent of the population, according to the “State of Food and Nutrition Insecurity and Vulnerability in Southern Africa” report.
The report was compiled from results of the 2018 vulnerability assessments and analysis of 11 SADC Member States. The number of the food insecure population is 13 percent higher, compared to last year, 2017/8.
The increasing food insecure population reverses the improvement in 2017/18 when the number fell to 27 million from 38 million in 2016/2017.
Over the past ten years, the food insecure population in the region has remained above 22.7 million.
With increasing climate-induced shocks, there needs to be urgent action and sustained resilience building, or the food insecure population is likely to grow.
The report makes short-medium and longer-term recommendations to address chronic food and nutrition insecurity and vulnerability, including building the resilience of people, communities, and institutions to prevent, anticipate, prepare for, cope with, and recover from shocks.
“It is evident that the weather influences food security in Southern Africa. When the region receives sufficient rainfall that is well-distributed, the numbers of the food insecure population drop, but when the region experiences extreme weather conditions, the numbers increase. Given the increasing frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events that are influenced by climate change, we must employ new ways of sustaining our food security systems and climate-proof our national strategies and plans”, said Clement Kalonga, the Head of Disaster Risk Reduction at the SADC Secretariat.
The report highlights the role of robust social protection systems targeting vulnerable populations, the adopting of climate-smart agriculture practices such as the use of drought-tolerant crop varieties, irrigation, staggered planting and integrated soil fertility management.
It also proposes scaling-up the high-impact nutrition interventions that target children under five years and women of reproductive age as well as encouraging the growing and consumption of diversified diets.
The report calls on the Member States to improve women and girls’ access to nutritious food, education, services and production resources and in ensuring that they participate in policy decision-making processes.
Overall, the report asks Member States to prioritize programmes and response planning that address these key regional issues while building sustainable monitoring and evaluation systems.
Find the SADC RVAA Synthesis Report here.
Original source: SADC
Published on 9 July 2018